When All Else FailsBe Cute
by AlineVanDeventer
Summary: If Brooke Davis taught her daughter anything it was when all else fails, be cute. But what happens when tragedy strikes and the last thing Ashlee Davis wants to do is be cute? I've been absent for a while but I'm back now. Hope you guys like this one.
1. I love you Mommy

_When all else fails, be cute._ That's something her mother had always taught her. At least that's the one thing she remembers her mother teaching her. It's not that her mother didn't teach her anything else, it's just that's the one that stuck with Ashlee through out the years.

Now, at 17, the last thing Ashlee Davis wanted to be was cute. She couldn't be cute. Especially not today; she had to be strong today. For her brothers, her dad, her aunts and uncles, and even the man who tried to be her "father". They all stood huddled around a closed coffin listening but hearing nothing the revered was saying. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Ashlee wasn't supposed to have to bury her mother before she graduated high school. It wasn't right. Ashlee knew it wasn't right. She had always known that it wouldn't be right.

She kept standing there as her dark hair fell across her face. Ashlee didn't budge, she just left her hair where it had fallen, thankful to have a shield for the tears that were cascading down her pale cheeks. Silently she thanked Brooke for introducing her to waterproof mascara. If she hadn't, Ashlee was sure she would have looked like a complete wreck and that was the last thing needed right now. Not when she was supposed to be holding it together and being strong for Ezra, Jordan, Nick, Leo, Chase and _him_. Why she felt the need to be strong for him, Ashlee couldn't explain. Chase had been more of a father to her then that creep ever would. So it didn't make sense to her that she would feel obligated to be strong for him.

Ashlee felt Ezra tighten his hold on her and she leaned into his shoulder. Maybe she wouldn't have to be strong for Ezra. He knew that she was gonna need someone to be there for her and if anyone would be allowed to, it would be Ezra. Since, after all, he is her twin brother. Not to mention the only person, with the exception of Brooke, that Ashlee ever went to for a shoulder to cry on, ear to listen or advice.

"Ash it's okay to let it go. Nobody's gonna judge you for how you feel. Especially not today," Ezra whispered in her ear.

Ashlee shook her head furiously. She wasn't gonna let everybody see her fall apart. Not Ezra, or Nick or Leo or Jordan or Chase or him. Definitely not him. He had never once been around when she needed her father so she wasn't about to let him be there for her now. She had Chase and her brothers, along with Nathan, Jake and Skills when they were home. Granted it wasn't all that often but they were still there for Ashlee and the boys as much as they could be. Now today, they all stood lost in their own world of grief and desperate for answers. Why had this happened? Why Brooke? Why now? Unfortunately, not one of them could answer a single one of those questions.

Finally the reverend had stopped speaking. Ashlee had gone completely numb. That was until the guy flipped the switch and the coffin was being lowered into the cold unwelcoming unforgiving earth. Frantically she untangled herself from Ezra's grip on her and lunged toward the casket. She desperately wanted it to stop retreating away from her but didn't know where the switch was to make it stop.

"Mommy! No. Come back. Please! I need you. Don't leave me here! Please Mommy," Ashlee screamed as the tears poured down her cheeks.

She carried on in the same way for about ten minutes before she exhausted herself. When she had finally calmed down a bit Ashlee looked at the coffin that now lie motionless and stared back at her uninviting in its cold metallic luster and before getting to her feet she whispered, "I love you Mommy. When all else fails, be cute." Ashlee rose to her feet and turned to see that nobody had moved. Everyone she had told herself she had to be strong for witnessed her melt down.

"Ashlee," Lucas began hesitantly, the emotion clear in his voice.

"No. Don't you dare talk to me," Ashlee snapped at him.

"Ashlee please!"

Ashlee whipped around to face him again and Lucas recognized the look on her face. It was the same look Brooke would give him when she was upset with him for something.

"What? What do you want from me?" Ashlee demanded harshly.

"I just I want"

"That's what I thought. You wanted to snake your way into my life now that Mom's dead and won't try to stop you. Well guess what _Lucas_, I don't need you and neither does Ezra. Buzz off!"

Before he could even respond Ashlee had turned around again and was walking with her head buried in Ezra's shoulder back to the limo so they could go back to the house and be tortured with hours of people offering sympathetic glances and pathetic attempts at small talk. That was the last thing Ashlee wanted right now. All she wanted was to go home, put on her pj's and lock herself in her room. Unfortunately she knew that couldn't happen. Not for a few hours anyway. She had promised Chase and Ezra that she would stay downstairs and be polite for a little while at least. But they had all agreed that as soon as she couldn't handle it anymore and wanted to go be alone that she could. No questions, no arguments…from anyone.

The only "good" thing about going back to the house and having all kinds of people there, was having Haley there. Ashlee absolutely adored Haley and whenever Brooke wasn't around, she would go to Haley with her troubles. Ashlee sat in the limo, eyes closed and head on Ezra's shoulder, not making a sound. She almost didn't realize they had gotten to the house had it not been for Ezra gently shaking her to get her attention.

"We're home Ash. Come on," he said.

"No. I don't want to Ez. It's not home without her," Ashlee replied softly.

Ezra sighed wearily as he took his sister's hand and pulled her gently off the seat. He hated to make her but knew that he no choice. Chase had already gone in with Jordan, Nick and Leo. But he had tried to get Ashlee to come in with them. Of course, she had refused to comply with Chase as well. Ezra told him to go ahead in and he'd take care of getting Ashlee out of the limo.

"I know this is hard Ashy. But we have a deal remember?"

Sighing reluctantly Ashlee nodded her head and then moved to get out of the limo. As she stepped out and looked around, a small smile flickered in her eyes when she saw that Haley was waiting for her. Before she could be blinded by tears Ashlee made her way over to Haley who stood there with tears in her own eyes and arms stretched waiting for her niece to fall into them.

"Baby Tigger, come here," Haley said gently.

Without a single word, Ashlee collapsed into Haley's embrace and let go of the sobs she had been holding in. Ezra watched through tears of his own as his twin lost her composure. He hated that he couldn't do anything for her. It was the first time in a long time he had felt this way. Shaken by his helpless estate, Ezra didn't realize he wasn't alone until he heard his voice.

"You know, she's lucky to have you," Lucas said to his son seriously.

"How would you know? You were never around. And you're only here now because you think you can make up for lost time or something. Ash was right. She doesn't need you and neither do I. Why don't you just get out of here?" Ezra yelled. His voice was a mixture of anger, sadness and helplessness.

"Wow your mother really did a good job turning you both against me."

"Screw you. Mom didn't do that. You did that."

"How? Tell me Ezra. How did I turn my own kids against me?"

Chase had been watching from the doorway until Lucas opened his mouth again. At which point he walked over in a huff toward the two guys.

"You wanna know how you turned your own kids against you? Do you Lucas?" Chase barked.

"Yes, actually I do," Lucas shot back.

"When you walked out on their mother. That's how. You didn't even bother sticking around to be there for her or them. That's how. It's always been about you. You never gave a damn about Brooke or about Ashlee or Ezra. Hell you didn't even care enough about any of them to stick around long enough to find out Brooke was carrying twins. You know what? Ezra's right…get out of here. I can't stand having the so-called man who walked away anywhere near me or my kids."

"I'm their father! Not you."

"Oh really?"

Ashlee was about ten feet away from where Chase and Lucas were arguing and she had had enough. Anger stirred in her as she stalked over to them. Chase looked up to see her storming over and knew it was going to get ugly in a minute.

"Ash I'm sorry for yelling," Chase said quickly.

"Shut up. I don't wanna hear it right now," Ashlee retorted before turning her attention to Lucas, "You are not my father. And you never will be."

"Ashlee," Lucas replied, all anger gone from his voice and in its place was the despair of being denied by his own flesh and blood…again.

"No. I told you, Ezra told you, Chase told you. You're not my father. And I don't want you anywhere near me or them or this house. Ever. Got it? Good. Now leave."

"Ashlee."

Haley walked over now and Lucas knew he was in trouble if she was getting involved.

"Lucas did you not hear what Ashlee just said? Leave. You're not helping anyone by being here. You're only stirring up more grief for everyone. You may not respect Chase and God only knows you don't really care about Ashlee or Ezra. But you and I both know you still respect me. So I'm gonna tell you. Get out of here," Haley said, a quiet anger ringing in her words.

Without a single word, Lucas dropped his head down and walked away. Ashlee, Ezra and Chase all stood in silence watching in amazement at how quickly Lucas had listened to Haley's words. They had all tried the same thing with him but their words seemed to roll off his back but the minute Haley spoke he listened.

"Thanks Haley," Chase said with a weak smile.

"You're welcome," Haley replied.

Ashlee turned to walk in the house. She was still okay enough to stay downstairs but she wanted to check on her younger brothers. It wasn't really until that moment that she realized that she hadn't really talked to the three of them much since Brooke had died. Ashlee felt lousy for it too as she opened the front door and found her brothers hovered around the food that was spread out on the island and the table.

As soon as she opened her mouth to speak the three boys were gone. Defeated, Ashlee turned and walked toward the back door and didn't stop until she reached the swing. Much to her surprise, Nathan was already there. He had a bottle clutched in his hand tears were rolling down his cheeks. She quietly sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Uncle Nate, why did Mom have to die?" she asked meekly.

"I don't know sport. I really don't," he said as he drew in a shaky breath.

"It's not fair! She was the best mother in the world. Or at least she tried so hard to be. I know it wasn't always easy. Hell I know I wasn't always easy on her. But she tried Uncle Nate. She really tried because she loved us. All five of us. Mom loved us more on her own then your stupid brother ever bothered to. Why did she have to go? Why is he still here!"

Nathan hated to see his niece so broken but there wasn't anything he could do or say in that moment to help. He knew that it hurt him to hear her speak that way about his brother but also felt it was completely justified that she feel that way. Brooke really did love all her children, more than anyone ever could have imagined and Ashlee was right that it wasn't fair she had died. But at the same time he wasn't sure he could wish his brother were the one dead and not Brooke. Not that he was ever gonna tell Ashlee that. At least not for a very long time if he could help it.

"Jordan, Nick and Leo won't even talk to me. Ezra won't stop patronizing me and Dad well…he's just Dad. He's trying so hard but I can see he's dying inside without her. I can't stay here Uncle Nate. It's too much. I can't stay in a house where there's no adult female presence. I need that. And I don't want Dad and Ezra to feel like they're failing me because they can't help me through certain things. What am I gonna do?" Ashlee exploded suddenly startling both of them.

Nathan was completely lost for words. He could tell Ashlee really needed that female presence even in this moment but was "stuck" with him instead. He wanted to help her, he really did but being male, he didn't have a clue where to start. Or if she would even let him help her.

"Ash, stay tonight. I'll talk to your dad in the morning and maybe we can figure something out. But don't get your hopes okay pal?" Nathan replied.

Ashlee nodded. She guessed that was better than nothing. He could have told her to suck it up and stay here because that was part of being a family. But she knew he wouldn't say that. He wasn't that kind of guy. If there was a way he could help, Ashlee knew her uncle would do everything he could to make that happen for her.

"All right I'm gonna go inside for a little while. Are you okay out here alone or do you want me to send Haley to talk to you?" Nathan asked as he stood up from the swing.

"I'm fine but she can come out here if she wants to," Ashlee answered.

Nathan nodded. He leaned down to kiss her forehead before heading into the house to find Haley. He wasn't the least bit shocked when he spotted his wife standing in front of the mantle holding a picture of Brooke just after she had Ashlee and Ezra. The tear tracks on her cheeks were visible even from where Nathan was standing right then. Slowly he made his way over to her and took the picture out of Haley's hand and placed back on the mantle.

"Your niece is outside on the swing. She said she was okay but if you wanted to join her you could," Nathan said as he reached up and wiped her tears away like he just done for his niece a minute ago outside on the swing.

Haley nodded as she made her way toward the back door. She wasn't really sure if talking to Ashlee right now would do either of them any good but at the very least she wanted to spend time with the girl. Sighing Haley let the back door close behind her as she made her way over to the swing. A small sad smile played on her lips when she saw that Ashlee was asleep on the swing with salty tear tracks on her cheeks and her lips were pouted. Careful not to wake her, Haley lifted Ashlee's head before sitting on the swing then resting the girl's head gently in her lap. Ashlee stirred a bit when she felt someone moving her and the swing shift.

"Shh, it's okay baby. Close your eyes and go back to sleep," Haley whispered gently to her.

"I love you Mommy," Ashlee responded unconsciously.


	2. New York Meltdown

It had been two years since Brooke had died and Ashlee was heading off to start her freshman year of college. And just like she had always wanted to, Ashlee was going to New York to follow in her mother's footsteps. Most people thought it was to honor Brooke's memory that Ashlee was going to New York. Very few however knew that it was more than that for Ashlee. That going to New York was something that Ashlee genuinely wanted to do and had talked about since she was a little girl. But now that the time had come for her to actually pack up her stuff and go to New York, Ashlee was scared. She was going to be alone in New York without her brothers or her dad or even Nathan and Haley.

For about a year after Brooke had died, Chase agreed to let Ashlee stay with Nathan and Haley in Raleigh. She always called home or visited on weekends though so it was almost like she had never left. The only difference was she wasn't around at night or in the morning.

It had been good for her though. With all the hormones and girly stuff that she had to deal with in her life to have Haley there to help her through it all. And when she thought she had gotten pregnant, Ashlee went to Haley, not her father, with her nervous breakdown. Ashlee didn't want to say it, but in some ways Haley was like a replacement for Brooke. It hurt to think that way but she knew it was true. Without Haley in her life, Ashlee was 100 percent sure she would have been dead herself by now. In fact, there were days when the fact that she wasn't dead yet surprised the hell out of Ashlee.

Today though, she was home, in her room, in Tree Hill. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking around the room. Her nerves were really catching up to her as time wound down before she would be heading to the airport with everyone to journey off to college. To New York. To continue the dream of her mother which had been instilled in her own heart now.

Something was missing. Something was always missing now. And as Ashlee looked up at the picture of her and Brooke that sat on her desk she knew exactly what it was that was missing. Brooke was missing. And she had been missing during all of Ashlee's important life events of the last two years. Getting her car. Graduating high school. Being named captain of the cheerleading squad. All things Ashlee had always dreamed about sharing with Brooke and she hadn't even lived long enough to be there for any of them.

Anger suddenly consumed her and Ashlee lashed out. She swung her arm and nailed the wall right above her head board. It came as no surprise to her that her fist went through the wall or that as soon as she screamed and swung there was the sound of five sets of feet running up the stairs to check on her. It never failed that at the slightest sound of anger or sadness from Ashlee they would all coming running as fast as they could to her rescue.

"Ash, are you all right?" Ezra asked his twin when he saw the blood on her hand.

"Nice work, Ash," Jordan said playfully as he eyed the hole in her wall.

"Jordan!" Chase scolded his son.

"Sorry Dad. Seriously though Ash are you okay?"

Ashlee groaned. She loved her brothers and her dad dearly but there were definitely times that she wished they wouldn't smother her because she let her emotions out. Right now was definitely one of them. And right now she wanted to be anywhere but in that room. Anywhere but in that house even if it meant being alone in New York. At least then she'd have some privacy when she was upset. Or she hoped so anyway.

Leo and Nick hadn't spoken yet. But they could see in Ashlee eyes that she wasn't okay and they didn't need to ask to confirm anything. It was obvious that she was scared. Heck, they were scared for her. New York was a big city and she would be alone. How was she going to handle that if she couldn't keep her emotions about Brooke in check enough not to punch holes in her bedroom walls at home in the small town of Tree Hill. They were worried she wasn't going to last. Actually, they were both convinced she wasn't even gonna leave Tree Hill that her fear would grip on too strongly and she'd end up staying here instead of going to New York. But they didn't want that for her. They knew she wanted to go to New York and so they in turn wanted her to go to New York and do her thing.

"Nick can you go call your uncle and tell him I need some plaster for Ashlee's wall?" Chase asked him.

Nick nodded and turned to leave the room. But before he did he turned back around, walked over to Ashlee and hugged her. She truly was his favorite person in the world and he hated to see her so upset. Ashlee returned his hug and then released her grip so he could do what Chase had asked.

Chase turned his attention to Ashlee as he had grabbed the spare shirt he kept near by for situations like these and wrapped it around her bleeding hand. It broke his heart to see his little girl this way. Sure he knew that realistically Ashlee wasn't a little girl anymore but to him, she would always be a little girl. His little girl even. As he sat there silently next to Ashlee on the bed, Chase carefully applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Ash, you really need to stop punching holes in your wall. I know it's hard with Mom gone but sweetheart, she wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Chase offered gently.

Ashlee stared at him blankly. She knew he was right. She heard every word he said but couldn't bear to answer him. Not in a way that she knew he would want her to. He would want her to be level headed and not lash out at him but right now that's all she wanted to do. She wanted to lash out at Chase for patronizing her and telling her how she shouldn't be acting. She was 19 for crying out loud. If she wants to punch a hole in her wall, then so be it.

"Dad I'm 19 and still miss my mother. I'm not a fucking invalid. When are you gonna understand that?" Ashlee snapped unexpectedly.

"Ashlee!"

"What?"

"You know what."

"Oh did you think I was gonna apologize for the language?"

Chase nodded expectantly. However, Ashlee said nothing and had no intention of doing so either. She didn't think it was right that she was the only one apologizing for her feelings or her language for that matter. Especially not since she was the oldest. It was ridiculous to her. Chase continued to wait thinking that she would eventually apologize like she always did. But when five minutes had passed and Ashlee still hadn't made any effort to say anything Chase knew that this time she wouldn't be apologizing.

When Chase looked down to check the cut on Ashlee's hand he was glad to see the bleeding had stopped. Although it made his stomach turn to look at the cut. He knew that he would have to take her to the hospital to get it checked out later. Of course he only knew from experience since this wasn't the first time she had punched a hole into her bedroom wall. He was glad however that it was the same spot most times. It made fixing it that much easier and as much as he hated that he had to fix her wall at all, at least there weren't patches of plaster everywhere.

"Um Dad, Leo…do you mind? I wanna talk to Ashlee alone for a minute?" Ezra spoke up after a few minutes of silence had passed.

Chase and Leo nodded before turning to leave the room. As soon as Leo had left the room Ezra walked over and closed her bedroom door. He wanted to talk to her without anyone else listening in on their conversation. Otherwise he knew she would never really open up to him and that crushed him.

"Ash," he started, "what's going on? Why the hole in the wall bit?"

"You know why Ez. Mom's dead. I'm supposed to be leaving for New York today but God only knows Dad's gonna make me get this looked at so I probably won't get to leave til tomorrow or something," Ashlee rambled in response.

"Come on. It's me. Tell me what's really going on. I know it's not just because Mom's dead. I know that's part of it but I also know that's not all of it. Don't lie to me Ash."

"Okay Mister Psychic, if that's not all of it. What's the rest of it? If you're so smart why don't you tell me why I put a hole in my wall?"

"Ashlee Camryn Davis."

"Don't pull that card on me right now. It's not gonna work."

"Oh really?" Ezra cocked his eyebrow at her challengingly and she did the same in return along with the crossing of her arms in front of her chest.

"Yes really, Christian Ezra Davis."

"Seriously. Are you gonna talk to me or am I gonna have to beg you?"

"I'm scared. What more do you want me to say? There's nothing else I can say because that's all of it. I'm scared. I've never been alone in my whole life. Not the kind of alone that being in New York would mean. I don't know if I'm ready for that. I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I want to anymore."

"Ash, you can do it. You might be scared right now but I have no doubts that you will be fine in New York. Am I surprised that you're scared? Hell no but Ash you've never backed down from anything. Don't start now."

"But."

"No buts. Now are we gonna get your hand looked at and then ship you off to New York or are we gonna get your hand looked at and come back here and unpack all this crap?"

Ezra waved his arm toward the pile of buckets that held Ashlee's belongings just waiting to go to New York. She looked at him nervously. She truly didn't know what she was going to do right then. It was too much to think about. Right then all she knew that she wanted was for the pain in her hand to go away. So at the very least Ashlee knew she was going to get her hand looked at. Although she knew that anyway, like as soon as it went through the wall. Yet that hadn't stopped her from punching a new hole in her wall. Part of her felt bad but not entirely. It was kind of therapeutic for her to punch the wall. At least temporarily.

Ezra was still waiting for Ashlee's answer. She knew that but she didn't have all of it. So she opted not answer him at all. Instead she got off her bed and walked out of the room and made her way down the stairs. Frustrated, confused and helpless Ezra continued to sit on his sister's bed for a minute before he too got up and went downstairs.

Ashlee was halfway down the stairs when she heard Chase's voice and then another voice. A female voice. Suddenly her eyes lit and she raced down the stairs. Haley was there. Why Ashlee wasn't sure but that didn't matter. All that mattered to her was that Haley was there. Maybe they could talk and Haley could help Ashlee decide what to do about New York or maybe not do.

"Aunt Haley, what are you doing here?" Ashlee greeted her with small hesitance in her tone.

"Well your brother called and told me someone put a hole in her wall again. What's going on kiddo? You wanna talk to me?" Haley replied as she wrapped Ashlee into a hug.

Ashlee opened her mouth to speak but decided against it. Instead she looked at Haley and nodded. Haley linked her arm with Ashlee's and led them out the door. She knew this wasn't going to be an in-house conversation. Those never worked in that house. The boys were always too loud doing their own things or interrupting them every three seconds with silly questions and what not.

"Hey! She needs to get her hand looked at!" Chase called after the girls' retreating figures.

"Ash, what's going on? Why the hole in the wall this time?" Haley asked seriously as they made their way toward the River Court.

"I dunno I guess I just…I got scared. I'm supposed to be leaving for New York today. Sitting alone in my room I had all kinds of thoughts swimming through my mind. Like what if I can't do it, what if New York isn't where I'm meant to go. I dunno, I guess I'm just afraid to be alone in a strange place. Mostly I'm afraid of doing this without her. Part of me hates her Aunt Haley. I mean really hates her. She left me before I reached all kinds of important milestones in my life. She was supposed to be here when I left for New York. She was supposed to be the one to take me. Dad and the boys were gonna stay in Tree Hill and Mom and I were gonna make a big trip of it. But now I don't get that! I'm stuck with them taking me to the airport and then flying to New York and getting adjusted…alone," Ashlee replied as she fought back the tears.

They had finally the River Court but much to Haley's dismay, it was occupied. Obviously she hadn't thought about it being a Saturday afternoon in Tree Hill. Not wanting to subject Ashlee to being in the public eye of the bunch of guys and girls who were there enjoying their day, Haley turned them in a different direction and headed for the cemetery. A place she herself hadn't visited in a while.

Ashlee stiffened when she realized where they were going. She hadn't been to the cemetery in a long time either. In fact, it had been so long that she wasn't really sure when the last time she had been there even was. She really didn't feel like going there right now. But when she tried to pull Haley in the opposite direction, Haley pulled Ashlee twice as hard toward the cemetery. The two battled back and forth for a good 200 yards before Ashlee gave in and let Haley lead them to the cemetery. It was probably time she visit her mother's grave anyway.

Ashlee and Haley continued to walk arm and arm through the cemetery until they reached Brooke's headstone. Across the top it said "Brooke Penelope Davis Adams" then her birthday and date of death. And then under that was the one thing that Ashlee remembered Brooke telling her "When all else fails, be cute." The two sat down carefully not speaking for a while. Not each other or to Brooke until Haley finally broke the silence.

"It seems our girl here is losing confidence in herself Brookie. I wasn't sure where else to bring Ash since the River Court is full, go figure it's Saturday. So I decided we should come here. I'm sorry for not coming around more often. I love you and I miss you every day. I guess it just got easier staying away from here being in Raleigh with Nathan. Anyway, I just wanted you to know I haven't forgotten you nor will I ever," Haley said.

Ashlee listened as Haley spoke seemingly to her mother but logic told Ashlee that it wasn't really Brooke that Haley was talking to. But the didn't matter, not completely. There were a few things Ashlee needed to get off her chest and out in the open and since they were mostly for Brooke, she figured there was no better time than right now.

"Mom, I need you so much. I can't do this without you. It's too hard. All my dreams of going to New York and following in your footsteps are fading. Why did you have to be taken from me? Mommy I can't do this. Please come back to me. I need you. I really can't do this without you. Nobody makes me feel the way you did. Nobody. Please, don't make me go on without you. I can't do it. Damn it! It hurts too much. I miss you! Oh gosh, Mommy. I hate you right now. I really do. I don't care if that's not fair but you left me here. You weren't there for me all the times that I needed my mother in the last two years because you had to go and fucking die! Why are you selfish? Huh? Explain that to me. Oh you can't because you're dead. Whatever . I'm not going. I'm gonna stay here. The hell with following in your footsteps. All I'll ever be is "Brooke Davis' daughter". Nobody will ever respect me enough to call me Ashlee Davis. Nobody ever has. I hate you for that," Ashlee screamed as she slammed her already bloody and torn up hand into the headstone, "Mommy I love you. Come back. Please. I promise I'll be better. I love you."

Haley sat silently while Ashlee fell apart. There were tears running down both their faces. Maybe coming to the cemetery wasn't the best ideas Haley had but it definitely seemed like Ashlee was getting her feelings out in the open so it couldn't be viewed as all bad either. Finally, the screaming stopped and Ashlee laid her head on Haley's shoulder as a few stray teas continued to roll down her cheeks. She had never screamed so much in her life. She had never been so anger and full of sorrow either. Not even the day she found out Brooke had died or at Brooke's funeral.

"Thank you," she whispered hoarsely.

"You're welcome," Haley replied as she kissed the top of her niece's head.

They sat there silently for a little while longer before Haley decided it was time to get Ashlee to the emergency room to have her hand looked at. Especially now since she had punched something else and the wounds looked deeper. Ashlee groaned but knew Haley was right and if she didn't go then, she knew Chase would just make her go later. So reluctantly Ashlee agreed to let Haley take it her and the two got to their feet and made their way back to the house so they could take Haley's car to the hospital.


	3. Trip to the ER

Ashlee argued with Haley and herself all the way to Tree Hill General about whether or not she was going to New York. Yes, part of her still felt like she wanted to go and do this thing. But there was a bigger part of her that didn't want to leave Tree Hill or her family. Haley of course thought that Ashlee should give it a try and if she didn't like it then she could come back. It was driving Ashlee crazy how much Haley was pulling the "mom" card on her. She wasn't her mother! But Ashlee knew that Haley meant well and truly wanted the best for her. So she couldn't be too upset with Haley. Regardless of what Haley thought she should do, Ashlee still hadn't made up her mind yet. Sure it may have looked like her mind was made when you walked into her bedroom and saw all her things packed up and ready to go. That however had been done before Ashlee had freaked out and gotten scared about being in New York alone.

It's not that Ashlee had never been to New York so she didn't know what it was like. She had just never been to New York alone. Anytime she had been there in the past, she had gone with Brooke. That was how she decided where she wanted to go to school and what she wanted to do, of course it helped that she loved her mother and wanted to follow in her footsteps. But now she wasn't sure how much of Brooke's footsteps she wanted to follow. She did the cheerleading thing, was made captain and true the Davis name, Ashlee was pretty well known for being a party girl who was very experienced, if you know what that means. So now that she was thinking about it, Ashlee didn't know if she really wanted to go to New York or if she said she did out of obligation to her mother's memory.

"Aunt Haley what if I really and truly don't wanna do this? What if I just said I was going to so that I would still feel like Mom is here?" Ashlee asked insistently as they finally got to Tree Hill General and were making their way out of the car and into the emergency room.

"That doesn't make sense Ash. You always told your mom that you wanted to go to New York and study fashion and follow in her footsteps. Why would you say that you really don't know that you still want to now that she's not here?" Haley replied.

Ashlee sighed. Leave it to Haley to make things so crystal clear that it actually makes the situation that much more complicated. She wanted to go to New York. She loved New York but she didn't want to go at the same time. It was too painful for to think that she would be doing that to follow in Brooke's footsteps now that Brooke had died. It was times like these that really made it on hard on Ashlee that Brooke was gone. She couldn't go to her and bounce ideas off of her to help her make a decision. Now she was forced to make a decision sort of on the fly and Ashlee couldn't make up her mind.

"Hi, my niece needs to have her hand looked at. She punched a hole in her wall and then punched a gravestone," Haley said politely as they stood at the receptionist's desk of the emergency room.

"Okay, I'll you and your niece to fill these out and then bring them back to me when you're done. As soon as someone is available I'll have them look at her hand," the woman replied politely, handing Haley a clipboard full of papers that she needed to fill out.

Haley nodded as she accepted the clipboard and then the two girls walked over to the plastic chairs and in two empty ones that were side by side one another. Ashlee sat in silence contemplating what she was going to do as Haley sat next to her filling out the forms. She was truly at a loss for an answer to the problem that lie ahead of her. And it seemed as if there were no answer anywhere in sight at that moment. Discouraged and defeated, Ashlee dropped her head into her hands and sighed heavily. Haley looked over at Ashlee when she heard the sigh and shook her head. She wished there were something she could do but knew Ashlee had to decide for herself. However, she resolved to help Ashlee reach a decision as best as she could.

"Ash, whatever you decide, I want you to know that I'll support you 100 percent. I just don't want you to make a decision because you feel that's what everyone else wants you to do okay?" Haley finally spoke after a while.

"Uh huh. Thanks Aunt Haley," Ashlee replied after barely hearing what Haley had just said to her.

"Did you even hear what I said?" Haley grinned at Ashlee knowing full well that she hadn't actually heard what she said but answered her anyway.

"Yeah. You said I should make my decision based on what everybody else wants me to do."

Haley shook her head and laughed. Ashlee's response had proved her point that her niece hadn't actually been listening to her when she had spoken a few minutes ago. Ashlee was taken by surprise to hear Haley laughing in response. She had no idea what could possibly be so funny that Haley would be laughing at her answer.

"No Ash. I said don't make your decision based on that. Make your decision based on what you, Ashlee Davis, want to do. That's the only way you'll know if you're making the right choice or not. If you feel like you're only leaning toward going to honor your mom but aren't sure that's what you really want to do anymore, maybe you need to think twice about going. But at the same time if you're thinking about staying because you're afraid to face this by yourself, I think you're underestimating yourself and that you are plenty capable of going to New York and doing well for yourself."

Ashlee had no words. She heard everything that Haley had said to her but she didn't know how she was supposed to respond to any of it. Part of her wanted to say that she knew Haley was right and that she would be able to handle New York and being on her own. But another part of her didn't think she could do it and there was no way she was gonna say that right now. Maybe not ever if she could help it.

As they continued to wait for a doctor to come get Ashlee to have her hand checked out, she was getting antsy. The pain in her hand was growing in intensity by the second and that made her want to scream. Which in turn made Haley want to scream at the receptionist and demand that someone look at Ashlee's hand right that instant but knew that wouldn't work. It had never worked in the past, not even when she had to bring Ashlee in here when she was a little girl and sick as a dog.

Haley really hated emergency rooms. It didn't make any sense why they called them emergency rooms when people were made to wait hour after hour before anyone bothered to acknowledge their presence in the waiting area unless there was something protruding from their body like a screwdriver or some other obscure object that clearly didn't belong.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Ashlee and Haley, a doctor walked over to them and motioned for them to follow him to an exam room. Thankful to be getting the attention she so desperately needed in that moment Ashlee practically sprinted past the doctor toward the room. Obviously, she knew the routine and almost always ended up in the same room after an incident like the one that occurred today to bring her to the ER in the first place. The doctor and Haley both watched and neither of them could help but laugh at Ashlee.

"She's done this way too many times," Haley said when she finally stopped laughing.

"I'll say," the doctor replied as they walked together to the room he had told Ashlee he was taking her to. Of course it was no surprise that Ashlee was on the exam table waiting with her arms crossed in front of her chest when they reached the room.

"Ash, we should so have a VIP parking spot in this parking lot," Haley teased her niece, who's only answer was to stick her tongue out at Haley, "Very classy."

Ashlee nodded with a grin. She was completely distracting from what the doctor was doing until she felt him squeeze his hand on top of where she had gotten cut on her knuckles. She yelped in pain and pulled her hand away from his touch. She never remembered how much it hurt to have her hand looked at after punching the wall until she was back in the ER, sitting on an exam table going through the same thing she was going through at that very moment. As usual Ashlee was cursing herself for her violent outburst that landed her in this spot again. Only this time, it wasn't just because she had punched her wall but also Brooke's gravestone afterward. So this time her hand was really sore and cut real bad.

"Well kiddo," the doctor said, "Looks like you may have broken a couple bones in your hand this time. What did you hit?"

"My bedroom wall and then my mother's gravestone," Ashlee answered somberly.

"Ashlee, what did I tell you last time you were here?"

"I know I know. I'm not supposed to be putting holes in my bedroom wall. It's expensive enough for Dad without adding to it by needing surgery or stitches or other such medical attention."

"Didn't we talk about what you could do instead of punching your wall?"

Ashlee nodded. They talked about writing, going for a run, screaming into her pillow, punching her pillow or just finding someone to talk to when things got rough. But it wasn't always that easy for Ashlee. She couldn't always control herself and not take a swing at the wall. Although she really wished she could stop hitting the wall. It was getting annoying for to see Chase fixing another hole in her wall with plaster after calling Nathan, again, and then listening to him lecture her about it. It's not like she wanted to punch her wall all the time. It's just that her anger got the best of her and when it did, her fist always wound up going through her wall.

The doctor looked at Ashlee sympathetically as he nodded with a small smile. It was such as shame to him that a beautiful young girl like Ashlee experienced so much pain in her life and that the only way she ever seemed to cope with that pain was punching holes in her wall. Sometimes her father would bring her in, other times it would be one of her brothers. And then there were days like today when it was Ashlee's aunt bringing her to the ER. The times that Haley brought her in made him wonder if she had kids of her own. But that was none of his business. He could see she was married looking at her hand but still what right did he have to wonder if she had kids of her because she seemed to spend so much time with Ashlee? He didn't of course but he couldn't help himself.

"All right kid, let's get you cleaned up, stitched up, photographed, bandaged and out of my sight," he said light heartedly.

"Oh yeah, like I really wanted to come see you anyway," Ashlee joked back.

"I knew it. You couldn't stand being away from me so you had to do something to get back in here."

Ashlee laughed as she shook her head at him. At least someone was getting her to lighten up a little. It seemed as if the more her dad or her brothers were try, the more Ashlee would resist and shut down. Almost like she refused to let them in because they weren't female and wouldn't understand what was really going on in her head. But here she was in the ER joking around with an almost stranger as if they had known each other for years. And it didn't make much sense to Ashlee why she was so open with him because he too, like her dad and brothers, couldn't possibly understand what was really going on in her head. But unlike her dad and brothers, he didn't pretend to know what was going on. He didn't push things. Maybe that's why Ashlee was so comfortable with him.

After about another hour or so, Ashlee had gotten her hand cleaned up, stitched, x-rayed and was sporting a glaring white cast over her knuckles. She and Haley thanked the doctor as they were leaving to go back to the house. Ashlee had an announcement for everyone and she wanted to say it before losing her nerve or worse, changing her mind, again.


	4. I'm not going

When Ashlee and Haley got back to the house there was a car in the driveway that Ashlee didn't recognize. But judging by Haley's reaction when she saw the car, Ashlee knew that she recognized it.

"Who's car is it?" Ashlee asked somewhat nervously.

"Um," Haley hesitated.

"Aunt Haley. Please, who's car is that?"

"Luke's."

"What? Why is he here?"

Ashlee didn't bother waiting to hear if Haley had anything to say before jumping out of the car and running into the house. She was completely incensed with anger that Lucas had dared show his face around them again after being told not to. Who the hell did he think he was, waltzing in and out of their lives as he pleased? She told him they didn't need him. Ezra told him they didn't need him. Chase told him. And then Haley told him. All that happened on the same day. Sure it had been two years now but Ashlee wondered what made him think they would be happy to have him in their house again? She was pissed. And it became increasingly hard for her to control her anger at the moment. All she wanted to do was take her cast-up knuckles and slam them into Lucas' face repeatedly.

As soon as she walked through the door, Leo had intercepted her. He could see the anger burning in his sister's eyes but knew what he had been told to do when she got home…keep her away from Lucas. It didn't matter what he had to do to make it happen, Leo wasn't letting her anywhere near him.

"Let me go Leo. I'm not gonna do anything to him. Let me go," she screeched as she struggled to get out of Leo's hold on her.

"No. I can't Ash. I know you. As soon as I do, you'll go tearing in there and beat the shit out of him. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think he deserves it but Ash I don't want you to end up in jail for it. It's not worth it. He's not worth it. Come on, let's go upstairs and start unpacking your stuff," Leo replied with a knowing smile.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me. Let's go."

Leo turned Ashlee toward the stairs and pushed her to walk up in front of him. There was no way he was walking up there first because that would make it easier for her to get back down the stairs and get her hands on Lucas. He wasn't letting that happen.

"How did you?"

"Never mind how I knew. Let's just go. Let Dad and Ezra take care of getting Lucas out of here."

Ashlee sighed reluctantly as she made the rest of the climb up the stairs to her bedroom. She was surprised to find Nick and Jordan were already in there and they had started putting some of her things away for her. Glancing at her headboard, Ashlee didn't even know where the hole she had punched in the wall earlier that day was, in fact, she couldn't even tell that there was a new splotch of plaster covering a new hole. It almost made her forget that she had even punched the wall. Except that her hand was bandaged and currently throbbing in both pain and anger. She really hated him and wanted him to get the fuck out of their house. As she was unpacking her stuff she began to wonder if she should have just gone to New York so she could get away from Lucas. But that would be too much like Brooke and running from people wasn't something Ashlee wanted to emulate her mother for.

"What is he doing here?" Ashlee asked her brothers finally breaking the deafening silence they had been working in.

"I don't know. Dad sent us out of the living room as soon as he answered the door. Nick and I weren't sure if you'd mind us putting stuff away for you but Ezra didn't think you were leaving so we decided it was the least we could do," Jordan replied.

"Thanks guys. But how did you know Ezra was right?"

"You've been talking about staying for weeks Ash. But Dad thought it was better that none of us push you either way and let you decide on your own time what you were gonna do. But you Ez, he doesn't listen too good. That and he think he knows you better than you do sometimes."

Ashlee just rolled her eyes at Jordan's words. It was true though. She knew that. Ezra did seem to think that he knew his sister better than she knew herself sometimes. Yet, sometimes, he did know better than she did what she wanted to do about certain situations.

"How about you Nick? What do you know?" Ashlee asked.

"Not much more than you do. Basically all I know is Lucas is here. Oh and he looked pissed as hell when Dad opened the door. Kinda funny actually," Nick answered.

Ashlee was frustrated. Not so much with her brothers but with the lack of answers. She wanted to why he was here and when the heck he was leaving. But knew if she tried to go back downstairs before given the okay that he was gone, Leo would just interfere again.

Agitated, she flopped onto her bed and just stared at her ceiling while Jordan, Nick and Leo went about putting her stuff back where it all belonged with the exception, of course of her "girly things" as they called them that they refused to touch. Not that Ashlee minded because there were definitely things she didn't want her brothers or their dad touching. Ever.

Ashlee wasn't picky about people going through her stuff but there was definitely a line they weren't to cross and they all knew it. Which was fine with everyone because they had a strict privacy policy in their family and it was expected that it was honored by everyone in all circumstances and if it wasn't, consequences were hell.

Meanwhile downstairs in the kitchen, Chase, Ezra and now Haley sat on one side of the island and Lucas was on the other side. He had come over saying that he wanted to wish his daughter well on her adventures in college but Chase and Ezra didn't believe him. It didn't sound true, not completely anyway. They both thought that he was up to no good and was using the fact that Ashlee was supposed to be getting ready to leave for New York as an excuse to be there.

"Why are you really here?" Chase asked as evenly as his temper would allow.

"I already told you I just want to wish Ashlee well with college before she leaves," Lucas replied in exasperation.

"You're full of shit," Ezra retorted, arms crossed angrily across his chest. He leaned forward on the island so his face was inches from Lucas' before releasing the wad of phlegm that had collected in his throat. Satisfied with himself Ezra couldn't keep from grinning when it landed in Lucas' open mouth. That was better than he had planned on since he was really aiming for Lucas' eye.

"You little bastard," Lucas barked as he grabbed and napkin and spit into and then wiped the edges of his mouth off.

"Excuse me," Haley snapped angrily at Lucas, "What the fuck did you just call my nephew?"

"You heard me."

Haley reached across the island and slapped Lucas as hard as she could across his face in one direction. She waited a second for him to straighten himself up before she slapped him across his face the other way.

"Are you gonna let him get away with that?" Lucas asked Chase in a low menacing tone.

Chase didn't say a word. He wasn't exactly thrilled by what Ezra had just done but he didn't blame him either. So the chances of him disciplining Ezra for spitting in Lucas' mouth were highly unlikely, especially since Lucas so desperately seemed to think Chase needed to institute some kind of discipline toward Ezra for his actions.

"I don't like you so why would I give you any sort of satisfaction in my doing what you think I should do to my son?" Chase replied just as menacingly as Lucas had been.

"He's my son."

"Like hell I'm your son," Ezra barked at Lucas. He couldn't stand being anywhere near that piece of shit anymore. Angry and in a desperate need for space, Ezra stood up and left the room and subsequently the house, slamming the front door behind him.

Ashlee was watching from her window and jumped to her feet when she saw her twin outside. Even from where she was sitting in her room she knew that Ezra was as angry as she was and had to go outside and talk to him. As soon as she stood up to leave the room however, true to his promise to Chase, Leo was in her way.

"I'm not going in the kitchen. I'm going outside to talk with Ez. Please get out of my way," she said calmly.

Leo looked in Ashlee's eyes and when he saw the sincerity staring back at him, he had no choice but to oblige and get out of her way. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to be watching out the window to make sure she really went outside. Ashlee kissed him on the cheek before walking out of her room and running down the stairs.

Chase looked up when he heard footsteps descending the stairs. He thought they sounded like Ashlee's footsteps and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw her dark ponytail swing as she stalked briskly over to the island. He was so gonna have a talk with Leo later.

"Get out," she said angrily at Lucas before turning on her heels and walking out the door. Again it slammed closed as soon as she was outside.

"She is more and more like her mother every day," Lucas said almost happy but not quite.

"Oh she's more like her mother than you could imagine. Especially when it comes to how much she hates you," Chase replied snidely.

"Brooke never hated me."

"Bull shit. If she never hated you how do you explain that it wasn't you she married and had three other children with? Oh wait, because you walked away and broke her heart. How stupid can you be?"

As soon as Ashlee stepped foot outside Ezra turned around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was his twin and not Chase or Lucas who had followed him out the door.

"What happened?" Ashlee asked gently.

"I can't stand him Ash. He's a dick. Why the fuck does he have to come around and pretend like he cares about what's going on with us? He never cared before. He never showed his face while Mom was alive. And just now, he called me a bastard," Ezra replied. His words dripped with an anger that startled both himself and Ashlee. Usually, Ezra was the even tempered twin and Ashlee had the fiery anger thing going on.

It broke Ashlee's heart to see him like this. She wished there was something she could do, something she could say to make it better. But the reality was, nothing would take away Ezra's anger toward Lucas or the pain that he felt just by having Lucas anywhere near them.

"Why was he even there? Huh? Why was Lucas at Mom's funeral Ash? Who the hell told him he could be there?" Ezra exploded suddenly, which again, startled both of them.

"I don't know Ez. I really don't. But there's nothing we can do about it now. That was two years ago. Sure I was pissed off that he was there but on some level I guess he should have been. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want him there but somebody must have or I don't think he would have been," Ashlee answered him carefully.

She hadn't really thought about why or how he had ended up at Brooke's funeral but that wasn't something in her past Ashlee liked to spend a lot of time thinking about in its own right. She hated thinking that Brooke was gone and thinking back to her funeral made it all too real for her. So for the most part, Ashlee didn't think about that day, she didn't try to figure out why Lucas had been there or why he had shown up at the house afterward for that matter.

She didn't care to know why really, it wasn't like she planned on letting him be involved in her life now or even then. Ashlee had always had Chase, Nathan, Skills and Jake around. She didn't need Lucas in her life. Even though people always told her she should give him a chance since he was her biological father. That however never meant shit to Ashlee because if he had really loved her or Ezra or Brooke he never would have left. But he had and that alone served as Ashlee's sole reason for refusing to let him in. Ever.

There weren't many things that Ashlee and Ezra didn't talk about but Lucas bailing on their mom and essentially usually was one of those things. Just because they didn't feel like they needed to talk about it. Talking about it wasn't going to change anything for any of them so they just never bothered with it. If they had something to say about it though, they would either go to Brooke, Chase, Haley or Nathan. Never to each other.

Ashlee looked at her brother and could see there was something else going on behind his eyes. What, though, she wasn't completely sure. She had to know though because if it was something she could help with, Ashlee would do her damnedest to be there for Ezra.

"What's really going on?" she asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Ezra replied defensively.

"You have that look in your eye."

"What look?"

"The look that tells me there's something on your mind that you're not going near. What is it?"

"I, uh, I. Well you see. I kinda told Jordan and Nick that I didn't think you were really leaving."

"I know that."

"But you don't know why."

"How about you tell me?"

Ezra shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't really sure he wanted Ashlee to know. He told Nick and Jordan that he didn't think Ashlee was really leaving because he didn't want her to but had been too afraid to say so. Especially to Ashlee.

"I told them that because I don't want you to leave. I don't wanna be left here without you. I couldn't understand why you seemed so sure that you were still gonna go off to New York even without Mom alive but I couldn't make myself go to Fayetteville and that's not even out of state."

"Ez, don't judge what you're ready or not ready for based on what I may or may not be ready for. We might be twins but we're not gonna do everything and be ready for everything at the same time or the same intensity level. Honestly, I'm not ready for New York. I may never be ready for New York but go there some day anyway. But for now, I'm gonna stay here because that's about all I can handle."

Ezra couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ashlee was telling him she might not ever be ready for New York but some day might not let that stop her from facing up to her facing and going to New York anyway. She never ceased to amaze him with her abundant courage. Something he wished he possessed but really didn't have much of or confidence for that matter.

"You're amazing Ash," he said seriously.

"What?" Ashlee replied looking at her brother questioningly.

With that he explained everything to her and how he always wished he could be more confident like she was. Ashlee in turn told him that it wasn't so much that she was more confident than he was just that she wasn't as shy about her abilities as he was. And to Ashlee, that was a huge difference. They continued talking and laughing with one another but stopped immediately when they heard the front door open and saw Lucas walking toward them.

"You haven't seen the last of me," he told them threateningly before storming toward his car and peeling down their street.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ashlee asked no one in particular.

"Ash, I think we need to talk," Chase said to her as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"About what Dad?" she replied looking up at him curiously.

"You know what."

"Dad, I'm not talking to you about the hole in the wall. Not again, we've beaten that conversation to death. I'm too old to be reacting that way, I need to be more mature and set better examples for my brothers. Blah, blah, blah."

"Not what I meant. I meant about New York. Are you going or not?"

Ashlee pursed her lips. The moment she was waiting for was staring her in the face. Chase had asked the one question she knew he had been waiting to ask for at least a week. Was she going to New York? How was it that Ezra, Jordan, Nick and Leo could know what the answer was before asking her and yet Chase genuinely didn't seem to know? That was a fact that was completely lost on Ashlee. Regardless, she had to tell him that, no she wasn't going. She drew in a low deep breath before opening her mouth to speak.

"Ash? Are you going?" Chase asked again when he felt that she was taking too long to answer him. He didn't think it was a hard question to answer. All he was looking for was a simple yes or no. Nothing complicated there.

"No."

Chase nodded. He had pretty much been expecting that. Especially after the hole in the wall incident.

"Okay then tomorrow you gotta find a job."

Ashlee nodded as she brushed past him and went back in the house and back to her room. Surprisingly, Leo was still in her room. He was sitting on her bed staring at the doorway. She looked at him puzzled by his expression.

"Leo, what's up?" she asked when he didn't seem to notice he wasn't alone anymore.

"Huh? Oh nothing. So did you tell Dad you're not going?" he replied.

"Yup. I have to find a job tomorrow."

Leo nodded. Ashlee sat next to him on the bed and then like she had done earlier that afternoon, flopped backwards and stared at the ceiling. This time however, there were tears in her eyes. She really wasn't going to New York. It hadn't hit before but now that Chase had asked, it was starting to set in.


	5. Character info

_Hey everybody. So I hope you're enjoying this story so far. Of course it has taken me four chapters to realize I should probably do some kind of character intro and what not so there's no confusion for any of you or myself. _

Brooke Penelope and Chase Michael Adams

Ashlee Camryn Davis -19 (w. Lucas)

Christian Ezra Davis –19 (w. Lucas)

Jordan Hale Adams -17

Nicholas (Nick) Ryan Adams -16

Leonardo (Leo) Nathan Adams –14

Nathan Lee and Haley James Scott

Cooper Adam Scott -23

Jarrod Alan Scott -21

Shannon Grace Scott –20

Sydney Leah Scott -18

Brendan Alexander Scott -17

Colin (Cole) Joseph Scott -15

Dustin Eric Scott- 14

Antoine "Skills" Terrell and Bevin Louise Taylor

Lindsay Catherine Taylor -20

Kellen (Kelly) Orlando Taylor -16

Lucas Eugene and Peyton Elizabeth Scott

Connor Lawrence Scott -20

Jonathan (John) Eugene Scott -18

Nathan Riley Scott -17

Thomas (Tommy) Keith Scott 15

Jacob (Jake) Edward and Rachel Camryn Jagielski

Jennifer (Jenny) Rose Jagielski -24 (w. Nikki)

Brooklyn (Brooke) Marie Jagielski -18

Meagan Taylor Jagielski -14

Jacob (Jack) Edward Jagielski, jr. -7

Robert (Robby) Evan Jagielski -18 months

Richard (Ricky) Oliver Jagielski -18 months

Rocco Steven Jagielski -18 months

Cooper Scott and Jenny Jagielski

Amber Jaiden Scott -3


	6. The Truth

Finding a job was a breeze for Ashlee. She made one phone call, to Rachel and found herself a job. Rachel needed someone to watch Jack, Robby, Ricky and Rocco while her and Jake were working. So every Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to about 6:00 PM, Ashlee was at Jake and Rachel's house watching the four boys, and also there were the occasional Saturdays and the occasional nights out that Ashlee would baby sit for them too. Most of the time Meagan was around to help Ashlee but she seemed to have things under control on her own. Not that she didn't appreciate the help. Jack was also a big help with the triplets. Sometimes, Jenny or Cooper would drop Amber off for Ashlee to watch too. She didn't mind much because when they did that, they always checked with Jake, Rachel and Ashlee first and they paid her separately from what she was already getting from Jake and Rachel.

Aside from her babysitting, Ashlee was spending a lot of time at the River Court with her cousins and best friends, Shannon, Sydney, Lindsay and Brooke. Sometimes some of the boys like Ezra, Jarrod, Brendan, Jordan, John and Riley would come out hang with them too. Most of the time though it was just the girls. And that suited them all just fine. Especially Ashlee, Sydney and Shannon. Too much testosterone could be overwhelming and being horridly outnumbered as they were by guys in their houses it was nice to get away from it when they could.

Today just so happened to be one of those "all girl" or "girls only" days. They were sitting on one of the many picnic tables just talking about whatever. It was gorgeous out but for some strange reason nobody seemed like they were in the mood to go to the beach.

Ashlee was sitting on the picnic table lost in thought. So much so that she hadn't realized that she was crying until Shannon put her arm around her and leaned her head down.

"What's wrong Ash?" Shannon asked genuinely concerned.

"I don't know. I'm fine. Really," Ashlee replied as she reached up to wipe the tears away.

"No you're not. Come on, you can tell us what's wrong. It's us, you know we're not gonna run off and tell the boys what you're upset about. That's up to you to tell them or not."

Ashlee shook her head stubbornly. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't even want to think about it. In fact, she hadn't wanted to think about it so much that she hadn't thought about it in the two years since it happened. The only part of it she ever thought about was the end "result", the fact that her mom was dead. It wasn't that she didn't remember what happened but it was because she remembered all too well what happened that made Ashlee reluctant to think about it, forget talk about it.

Lindsay looked up and looked in Ashlee's eyes. If anyone would be able to read what was wrong just by looking at Ashlee's eyes, it was Lindsay. Ezra couldn't even do that the way Lindsay could. Sometimes it pissed Ashlee off because she didn't want to deal with something but Lindsay would look in her eyes once and the floodgates would break open viciously. And then they didn't stop until Ashlee felt as if she would never have another to cry in her life. But of course she knew that wasn't true.

"Try again Ash. Shan's right. You're not okay. I can see it," Lindsay said with a soft seriousness in her voice.

_Damn it Lindsay! _Ashlee thought to herself in frustration. She really wanted to enjoy the weather but if Lindsay could see something was wrong and Shannon sensed it too, there was no getting out of it this time. Ashlee was going to have to do the one thing she hadn't done in two years. Talk about how Brooke had died. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

Shannon, Sydney, Lindsay and Brooke all waited silently for Ashlee to speak. They hated when she would get upset like this because they usually felt helpless. But none of them knew how helpless what Ashlee was thinking about this time was going to make them feel. There truly wouldn't be any action or words to fix this one for her. Nothing they could say or do was going to bring Brooke back and that made Ashlee more reluctant to open her mouth because once they knew what was wrong, they pity stares and the annoying small talk would start up. Ashlee would stick around for as long as she could put up with it and then leave without saying a word to anyone. She didn't want that to happen today but ultimately, there was no getting around it.

"Ash, come on. Talk to us," Sydney tried after a few minutes.

"I miss her," Ashlee finally said.

_Oh shit. This is about Brooke. _All four girls thought simultaneously. When it came to missing Brooke, all five girls had their good days and bad days. As would be expected Ashlee's bad days were way more intense then the other girls' bad days by a long shot. They all sort of huddled around Ashlee without smothering her as best they could. Each of them knew this was going to be a long afternoon of sorts but that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were there for Ashlee as she went through this tough time.

"It's my fault," Ashlee said quietly hoping no one else heard her.

Of course, she didn't have any luck. Whispering wasn't something she could do real well. Kind of like her mom. Yeah, it figured that Ashlee would realize another similar quirk between herself and Brooke when she was really missing her. That was always how it went for Ashlee.

"What's your fault?" Brooke asked.

"Mom being dead. She would still be here if I hadn't insisted she pick me up."

"Ashlee Camryn!" Shannon said sternly grabbing her by the shoulders and staring straight into Ashlee's green eyes, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known that your mom was gonna get in an accident that day."

"Shan you don't understand!"

By now, Ashlee had tears pouring down her cheeks. Again she thanked Brooke for introducing her to waterproof mascara.

"What don't I understand Ashlee? Do I not understand what it's like to lose a mother? Is that what I don't understand? Maybe I don't, but I do know what it's like to be consumed with guilt about something that wasn't actually my fault."

"What are you talking about?"

Shannon took a deep breath before she spoke again. This was something that she had only told Haley after it had happened because she couldn't bare to tell Ashlee. Now it looked as if she didn't have a choice anymore.

"Remember when you thought you had gotten pregnant?"

"Hey! Don't talk about that. I don't wanna hear it again. Got it?"

Ashlee was livid that Shannon would dare bring that up right now. Shannon knew damn right well that it still bothered Ashlee to this day. And how the hell did she figure that compared even a little bit to Ashlee's feeling like her mother's death was her fault? Ashlee didn't understand at all and quite frankly, she didn't care if she ever understood that. Sydney, Lindsay and Brooke sat in silence while Ashlee and Shannon had gone back and forth at each other. Most day people thought it was Ashlee and Shannon, rather than Shannon and Sydney who were sisters because of how they fought with each other.

Shannon nodded quietly. She knew she had been wrong to bring that up, especially now. But she felt like she needed to make Ashlee see that on some level, she did understand the pain of feeling responsible for something that wasn't in her control. She never meant to hurt Ashlee with that memory. She wasn't that kind of person.

"I'm sorry Ash, I wasn't trying to hurt you with that," Shannon apologized.

"I know, I forgive you but please don't mention that again," Ashlee replied.

Shannon nodded again. She figured that was fair enough. Maybe some day when it didn't hurt to think about, she and Ashlee could sit down and talk about it. Shannon would just have to be patient and wait for that day to come instead of trying to force because she thought it should be discussed.

"You still haven't really finished saying what happened that day," Lindsay pointed out carefully.

"I know. I'm getting there," Ashlee answered, "So I had called Mom that morning and asked her to pick me up from practice because nobody else would still be around when I got done what I needed to do. Of course, because she was absolutely amazing, Mom agreed to come get me. As soon as practice ended, I rushed into the locker room, took a quick shower changed into my street clothes and went outside to meet Mom. But I never saw her. Not until it was too late."

Ashlee wiped the tears away as they kept running down her cheeks. She was surprised at how calm she was while retelling this story. But she thought it was probably because she hadn't reached the most vivid and horrible portion of it yet. That was coming though, a little too soon for Ashlee's liking in fact because it was going to be the next thing she said.

"I walked out of the building expecting to see Mom leaning against the hood of her Volkswagen with a smile. Instead as I walked out of the building that day I saw her driving down the road, singing to whatever song she had blasting and from the other direction I saw a pick up truck barreling down the wrong side of the street constantly swerving all over the place heading right for Mom and her Volkswagen. I screamed even though I knew Mom couldn't hear me. I watched hoping against hope that Mom would be able to get away from him but just as she swerved to get out harm's way, the guy in the pick up swerved again and slammed right into Mom's door. He had been driving so fast that he slammed his truck into her car with such an impact that he pushed her side of the car all the way over to the passenger side. It had basically folded up like an accordion."

Ashlee had completely fallen apart now. Tears were pouring out down her face, she was sobbing uncontrollably and she could hardly breathe. Not to mention that she was thrashing her arms wildly in every which way. Shannon tried her best to hold Ashlee in a tight embrace but the thrashing made it almost impossible. There were tears running down the other four girls' faces as well as they listened to Ashlee recount the story of how she had watched Brooke die. It absolutely shattered them inside. They truly had no words of comfort for Ashlee this time. There wasn't a blessed thing they could say or even do for their friend, their cousin, in this situation and it tore them up viciously inside.

Ashlee was still screaming and crying when Ezra and Jarrod got to the River Court. They had decided to come down and play a little basketball to give the girls some entertainment since truth be told Ezra was a terrible athlete and Jarrod, somehow, missed out on the basketball gene that all Scotts had. Which means Ezra must have missed out on the same gene since he was ½ Scott biologically. However, their plans changed when they heard Ashlee crying. Overcome with worry and concern for her they sprinted toward the table where the girls were all sitting and knelt down in front of Ashlee.

"Ash, what's wrong? Are you all right?" Ezra asked worriedly.

"What happened? Did someone do something to her or say something?" Jarrod asked looking mostly between his sisters.

In an effort to keep Ashlee from completely losing it all over again, Shannon motioned for her brother to follow her. She walked about 25 feet away from the table before saying a word. When Jarrod caught up to her, he stared at her expectantly. He knew something was really wrong but the longer it took Shannon to tell him what that was the more impatient he became.

"Shannon will you please just tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

"She misses Aunt Brooke. And we just got the full run down of what happened," Shannon replied.

"What are you talking about? I thought Uncle Chase said that Aunt Brooke was in an accident and that's how she died?"

"Well yeah. But what I didn't know until just now was that Ashlee watched the whole thing happen. Or that she thinks it's her fault because she asked Aunt Brooke to pick her up that day."

"Oh fuck."

"Yeah."

Jarrod had no idea what to do now. There were no words he could say to Ashlee to make things better for her. No words to bring Brooke back although if it were possible, he would certainly try. It really bothered him when he couldn't help someone that he loved. Especially one of the girls. A minute later, Shannon and Jarrod walked back over to the picnic table. It broke their hearts to see that Ashlee was still sobbing. Granted, it wasn't something she could just stop crying over at the drop of a hat.

Jarrod sat next to Ashlee on the small space of picnic table that was unoccupied. He inched her closer to him and pulled her into a hug. She felt Jarrod wrap his arms around her and she just let herself go. The tears were flowing like Niagara Falls and her sobs were louder than thunder, at least they sounded like they were to Ashlee.

"That's really why I didn't go," Ashlee choked out between sobs and gasps for air.

"Why you didn't go where?" Jarrod asked cautiously.

"To New York. It hurt too much to know that Mom couldn't continue on in pursuit of her dream because she died. No, because I pretty much killed her by making her come get me when I could have walked home."

"That doesn't make sense Ash. Why didn't you go to New York?"

"Because! I couldn't do what Mom loved to do knowing she was dead and couldn't do it anymore or that I couldn't share it with her because she's dead. It was my fault she died so I don't deserve to have what I want in life. In fact, I don't even think I deserve to still be alive."

Ashlee winced in nervous anticipation of a lecture when she realized what words just came out of her mouth. Surprisingly however Jarrod didn't lecture her. And neither did any of the girls or her brother for that matter. They all kind of sat in silent shock Ashlee guessed she would call it. Although she was thankful not to be getting an earful about what she said. Especially since that was what she expected to happen. But now the silence with the exception of her sniffling and quieter sobs, the silence that had enveloped the seven of them was extremely deafening.

"Ashlee, please don't talk like that," Jarrod said with a sad sincerity in his voice. He hated to hear his cousin sound so upset and so self-depreciative. But there wasn't anything he could do or say, really, to change that.

"I'm sorry Jarrod but that's how I feel. You don't have to like it or agree with it, but that's the way it is," Ashlee replied.

Ashlee was annoyed. The looks of sympathy, the pathetic attempts at small talk or reassurance that Brooke dying wasn't her fault had started. She didn't much feel like being around people anymore but she didn't want to be alone either. So reluctantly, Ashlee opted for being around people, thinking maybe they would stop looking at her like that and stop trying to convince her of something that she couldn't make herself believe even if she wanted to. As far as she was concerned, the accident was her fault and nothing anyone said was ever going to change Ashlee's mind on that one. Although it was painfully obvious they were all desperately trying to do just that. And it was painfully obvious to each of them that they were failing miserably with each attempt they made.

"You may think it was your fault Ashlee, but I'm not done trying to make you see otherwise," Shannon said firmly.

"I wish you luck," Ashlee said, her tone completely serious. Which of course Shannon found disturbing but wasn't going to let that detract her from her efforts in this situation. Not in the slightest bit.

Finally, around dinnertime, the seven of them decided they'd had enough of the River Court and stood up from their spots on the picnic table and walked in the direction toward Ashlee and Ezra's house where they thought that Ashlee was heading but were quickly proved wrong when she walked the other way toward the high school. They followed behind her as she walked along down the sidewalk and then stopped abruptly. Looking around her to make sure she wasn't alone but that nobody was right on top of her either, Ashlee collapsed in a fit of tears right where she was standing and pounded furiously on the cement. Nobody moved, nobody knew what to do but they all guessed that she was kneeling on the spot where she watched Brooke die.


	7. Was it him?

Two weeks had gone by since Ashlee had talked about watching the accident that claimed her mother's life. She couldn't believe that nobody asked her anything about it or pushed her to get into how she felt about it. Even more than that, Ashlee was surprised that either nobody had told Chase about her meltdown or he just wasn't pushing her to talk about it. Somehow Ashlee didn't think she was so lucky that someone hadn't told him. Especially since her twin brother had witnessed her falling apart. Part of Ashlee wanted someone to say something, ask her how she was feeling, if she was dealing with the emotions that talking about and remembering the accident stirred. But no one said anything. In fact, they hadn't really talked about much of anything in the last two weeks. It was odd but in some ways Ashlee also kind of enjoyed the solitude.

Being alone to think and process or not think and not process was good for Ashlee. Except when she would try to picture the driver in the pick up truck, that was a part of the accident that Ashlee really didn't want to think about or process. But she knew that she had to. The more she did think about it though, the more she was convinced that the driver was someone she knew. Or at least should know. But the list of people that she should know but didn't really in Tree Hill wasn't very long. It consisted of one, maybe two people. When that thought crossed her mind, Ashlee suddenly felt sick to her stomach. It couldn't have been him…could it? Was that why he was at the funeral? Why he had been showing his face more lately? No, that didn't make sense. He might have been an asshole and left Brooke when she was pregnant with Ashlee and Ezra but Ashlee didn't take him as being stupid. _If he killed Mom, why would he have come to the funeral and then to the house afterward? That doesn't make sense _Ashlee thought to herself.

The more Ashlee thought about it and tried to picture the driver in the pick up, the more it seemed as if it might have been him. Maybe he really was driving the truck that day. Maybe he had killed Brooke. But why? What had she done to make him kill her? That didn't make sense to Ashlee either. If anyone, she would figure that he would go after Chase. Of course that didn't sit well in Ashlee's stomach either. She didn't want to think that the man who was half responsible for her genes had killed her mother or that he would ever try to do something to her dad.

Overwhelmed by the thoughts that were swimming around in her mind Ashlee rose to her feet and ran down the stairs and out the front door. She kept running with no real destination in mind. She just needed to run. After about five minutes she cursed herself for not at least taking ten seconds to grab her iPod or changing her shoes. When she realized how close she was to _his_ house, Ashlee took a deep breath and went up to the front door. Not knowing if he was the one driving the pick up that day was going to eat her alive. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Taking another deep breath, Ashlee raised her hand to knock on the door. She jumped when she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"You know you don't have to knock. This is your house too," she heard him say. The tone of his voice sounded like he was smiling but Ashlee was wearing anything but a smile at that moment.

"This will never be my house," Ashlee replied evenly.

"If that's what you want to think. What can I do for you?"

"I, uh, I need to ask you something."

"Okay, do you want to come in first?"

Ashlee hesitated for a moment. She had never actually been in the house when he was around. Usually when she was hanging out with Connor, Riley or John, Lucas wasn't home. Now she was about to go into the house with him. Not only that but she had actually come over looking for him.

"I guess so," she finally replied.

Lucas nodded as he pushed the front door open and motioned for her to go in ahead of him. She smiled politely and walked through the front door into a house that was pretty familiar to her. But now it looked like a house she had never been inside. There was something about being there with Lucas that made it all look so different to Ashlee. She jumped when she felt him place a hand on her shoulder again. That was really getting on her nerves. Why did he feel the need to constant have his hand on her shoulder? She had come over voluntarily, did he think he was going to keep her from leaving by placing a hand there. Not really, when she wanted to leave she was going to leave whether Lucas wanted her to or not. Nothing he could do would keep her there or make her stay. She was her own person and could make up her own mind about whether she wanted to stay or leave.

"What's on your mind?" Lucas asked.

"I've been thinking a lot about the accident lately," Ashlee replied.

"Okay, what can I do to help you?"

Ashlee watched Lucas' expression change drastically at her mention of the accident. She wanted to read something into that change but figured she shouldn't…yet. Maybe give him a few more minutes and few more drastic changes in facial expression before reacting.

"I was kind of hoping you could dispel the uneasiness in my stomach because of whose face keeps popping up as the driver that killed Mom."

"I can certainly try but you're gonna have to tell me whose face you see first."

"Yours."

Lucas was completely thrown, that wasn't at all who he expected Ashlee to say. Why would she accuse him of killing Brooke? That didn't make sense. Not to Lucas anyway.

"It wasn't me."

"Okay. That's all I wanted."

Ashlee stood up to leave the house but before she could, Lucas had reached out and grabbed her arm. Agitated by his action, Ashlee slapped his hand and Lucas instantly let go. He was shocked by what had just happened. She really did remind him a lot of Brooke.

"Why do you keep touching my arm?" Ashlee asked.

"I don't know. Reflex I guess," Lucas answered.

"Well you can stop. No matter how many times you put your hand on my arm, it's not gonna keep me from running or not running. I'll leave when I want to leave."

Lucas nodded. That made sense, he hadn't been trying to hold Ashlee there. At least that wasn't the intent behind touching her arm. The silence in the room was growing uncomfortable for both Ashlee and Lucas. Almost to the point where Ashlee wanted to scream just so there would be a sound. However, she resisted the urge to scream and instead took to tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.

She wanted to get out of there but she wanted to make sure that Lucas didn't have anything to say to her before she did. And she also wanted to get out before Peyton showed up. Ashlee really wasn't a fan of Peyton and she never really had been. Not even when Brooke was alive and still on somewhat friendly terms with the girl. There was just something about Peyton that always rubbed Ashlee the wrong way and if she could help it, she wasn't going to be anywhere near the house when Peyton got there.

Ashlee was just about to leave when she heard the front door open. Almost simultaneously, she held her breath, hoping against hope she hadn't missed her shot at leaving before Peyton came in. Turning slightly, Ashlee let go of the breath that she was holding when she saw that it was John who had come in the house.

"Hey Pops, Ash," he said casually before turning around again, "Ash what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Johnny," Ashlee replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

"It is nice to see you, I just didn't know you were here or hanging out with Dad."

"He's your dad, not mine."

John sighed heavily. He hated when Ashlee would deny that Lucas was her biological father. It's not that he didn't understand that Lucas had walked away from Ashlee's mom for Peyton but Lucas and Peyton had already been married and had Connor when Lucas slept with Brooke.

"Ashlee."

"What John?"

"You know what."

"Not in front of him."

Ashlee jerked her head in Lucas' direction. She wasn't having that conversation again with her half brother and she certainly wasn't talking about it with Lucas right there.

John groaned. He loved Ashlee, he really did, but she was such a stubborn pain in the ass sometimes and he couldn't handle it.

Lucas watched his children interact with each other and it amazed him that they could read each other so well without having grown up in the same house. That also made him happy because it meant that there was some sort of bond between all of his children, even if they didn't all have the same mother.

"Dad, I need to borrow the keys to the truck later," John said to Lucas as he went in the kitchen to get a drink.

"Why? What's wrong with your car?" Lucas replied.

"Radiator is cracked."

"Again?"

"I told you I need a new car. I wasn't just saying it because I want a new one. I really need a new one. This one is on its last legs."

John came back into the living room with three bottles of water. He tossed one to Lucas, one to Ashlee and then twisted the cap off the last one and chugged it down.

"If you need a new car so bad, get a job. I've been telling you that since you got your license."

"Dad, you bought Connor a new car. Why do I have to buy mine?"

"Quit whining, you're starting to sound like me," Ashlee said, shoving John playfully.

"John, your mother and I just bought Riley a car," Lucas replied.

"You own the damn dealership! I bet if Ashlee asked for one you'd buy her a new car too," John snapped.

Lucas didn't say anything this time. He knew that John was right and if Ashlee asked him for a car, he'd get her one. However, he also knew that Hell would freeze before Ashlee asked him for anything. It hurt to say that but Lucas knew that it was his own fault. He had left Brooke alone and pregnant when they were in college. It hadn't seemed to matter to anyone over the years that Lucas was married and had a son at that time. He was still an asshole for leaving Brooke alone and pregnant to raise not one, but two children, on her own.

Ashlee couldn't take it anymore. The longer she was in that house, the more risk there was for her to have to deal with Peyton. Not even bothering to say anything she quietly walked out of the living room while John and Lucas were shouting at each other about cars and money and something else. It wasn't until the front door clicked shut that either of them realized that Ashlee had left.

"Nice going Dad, you scared her off," John said, his voice dripping with disgust.

"Right whatever. Tell your mother I'm in my office when she gets home," Lucas answered flatly.

"Can I borrow the truck later or not?"

"No."

John rolled his eyes at Lucas before walking out the front door to try to catch up with Ashlee. He was surprised to find her on the front yard slouched over, pounding on the ground furiously. Carefully he sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. She almost pushed him away fearing that it was Lucas but stopped herself when she realized it was John. She not only stopped herself from pushing him away but she buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" John asked genuinely concerned.

"I think he lied to me," Ashlee answered between sobs.

"Who lied to you about what?"

"Lucas. I think he lied about being the one driving the truck the day my mom was in that accident."

"Are you sure?"

"Not completely but his face is the only one that keeps popping up on the face of the driver. I don't want to think he did it and then had the balls to show up at her funeral and seem like he was as upset as everyone else that she had died. It doesn't make sense John!"

"You'll get your answers Ash. I promise."

Ashlee shook her head. She didn't want John to make her any promises. Not that he couldn't keep and she felt like this was a promise he wouldn't be able to keep. What if it really wasn't Lucas that had killed Brooke? Who else could it have been?


	8. Who's the father?

_Hey I'm sorry it's been so long! It's been a crazy month and a half for me. My computer died and is still dead. But I finally got the bright idea to work on this on a different computer. Here's the seventh chapter…hope you enjoy it! _

Ashlee was walking through the streets of Tree Hill as the rain fell on her. She wanted desperately to know who it was that had been driving the pick up truck. It almost felt like there was nothing she wanted more in life than that one answer. In fact, Ashlee was pretty sure that the only other answer she may have wanted more than who, was why. Ever since she had talked to Lucas, Ashlee felt more confused about the whole situation. Still wanting to believe that it wasn't Lucas who had been the one driving but at the same time being completely unable to shake the thought that it was in fact him who had done it.

As she kept walking through the rain there was a car not too far down the road following kind of close to her. If she had been more there mentally it would have occurred to Ashlee but she was so lost in her thoughts the presence of the car had barely registered in her mind. Not until she stepped out into the road absent mindedly and then heard the tires squealing. She tried to jump out of the way with no luck. Since the roads were slick from the rain, the car couldn't stop. Instead, the small car made contact with Ashlee who flew up over the front of the car and slammed onto the back of it before rolling off onto the wet pavement with a sickening thud.

Peyton, who of course was driving the car, quickly slammed it into park and jumped out as fast as she could. Running to the back of the car her stomach turned at the sight that lay before her. Ashlee was sprawled out on the pavement, her left leg twisted awkwardly behind her with cuts covering her face and other areas of exposed skin. Without wasting another second Peyton flipped her cell phone open and dialed 911. She knew it would be better not to waste more time. Ashlee needed medical attention and quickly.

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator asked when Peyton's call went through.

"I need to report an auto accident," Peyton replied with a shaky voice.

"How many vehicles are involved ma'am?"

"Just one. I didn't hit another car, I hit a girl. She's in rough shape. Please send someone here quickly."

"Okay what's your location ma'am?"

"We're at the corner of Brunswick and S. Brunswick Streets."

"Is there anyone else there with the two of you?"

"No, it's just the two of us. Oh gosh, my husband is going to be so upset."

"I don't understand, I thought you said that you were alone with the girl."

"I am. But that doesn't matter right now. Are the paramedics on their way?"

"Yes ma'am. They should be there soon."

"Thank you. Oh, I hear them now. Thanks for your help."

"You're welcome. Have a good day."

"Yeah, uh huh. Bye."

Peyton flipped her cell phone closed and knelt down in front of Ashlee. She could see bruises starting to form near some of the cuts. When she said that Lucas was going to be upset, it hadn't even occurred to her that Chase would also be upset with her. But there was a chance that neither of them would be upset with her as much as they would be upset that Ashlee was hurt. It would be especially upsetting to Chase. Peyton stood over Ashlee looking at her body that lie motionless on the blacktop as the rain continued to fall from the sky. It seemed as if it was raining harder than before but Peyton wasn't completely sure.

"Ma'am, could you step back please?" Peyton heard someone ask from behind her a minute later.

She jumped at first not realizing that anyone else was there with her and Ashlee until she heard another voice. Without a single word, Peyton stepped back to allow the paramedics to help Ashlee. Up until that moment she hadn't thought to call anyone else to tell them about the accident. When she flipped open her phone again, Peyton realized that she didn't know how to get a hold of Chase and that it didn't seem right, biological father or not, that she tell Lucas before Chase knew.

"What am I gonna do? It's gonna look weird if I go to the hospital with Ashlee and don't have anyone else there. Chase will probably be pissed off that I hit her and didn't tell him. Luke will be pissed off that I hit her. Wait, I can have one of the boys tell Chase and then I'll tell Lucas," Peyton said to herself as she paced the length of the small car.

She flipped open her cell phone again and searched through the list of recent calls to find her oldest son, Connor's, number so she could call him and have him let Chase know what happened while she herself would call Lucas and tell him what happened. It rang three times before Connor finally picked up.

"What Ma, I'm kinda busy?" he answered sounding kinda agitated.

"Excuse me, but I need you to do me a favor," Peyton replied.

"I told you, I'm busy."

"Connor please. It's important. I need you to call Chase."

"What? Why?"

"I ran into Ashlee."

"Mom. Have John or Riley do it. I'm busy."

"Fine. Thanks for nothing Connor."

"You're welcome. Can I go now? Maggie's waiting for me."

"Yes you can go now. And make sure you be careful."

"Mom!"

"Okay bye."

Peyton groaned loudly before she dialed John's cell phone number. Hopefully her second oldest son wouldn't be so rude and actually make the phone call for her. Unfortunately, she had no luck getting a hold of him. It went straight to his voicemail.

"Hey it's John. Leave one or don't. It's up to you," she heard his voicemail say.

"John it's Mom. I need you to please call Chase for me. I was on my way home and I hit Ashlee. She's in pretty rough shape. I'm going to New Brunswick County Medical Center with her. Please tell Chase that. Thanks baby, I love you."

Peyton sighed again. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be. Hoping that Riley would answer his phone, Peyton flipped hers open again and scrolled through the numbers until she came upon Riley's and dialed it.

"Hey Ma, what's going on?" Riley greeted her pleasantly.

"Hey Riley. I need you to do me a favor," Peyton responded.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need you to call Chase."

"Oh god, what happened? Is Ash all right?"

"Uh no. She's not. But it was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen. I could barely see and then she just appeared in front of my car."

"Mom no. Tell me you didn't."

"Tell you I didn't what Riley? Hit Ashlee with my car? I can't tell you that because I did. It was an accident though. I didn't mean for it to happen. Please call Chase and tell him that the paramedics are taking Ashlee to New Brunswick County Medical Center and I'll talk to him there."

"Sure thing. Do you want someone else to come down and wait with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'm going to call your father and tell him what happened."

"Don't let him be there with Chase."

"Riley, Ashlee is your father's daughter. He has just as much right to be there for Ashlee as Chase does."

"No, Mom. I'm sorry but he really doesn't. Dad and Chase belong no where near each other. And if Ashlee and Ezra really ever meant anything to Dad, he would have acted like it way before Brooke died and you know it. Don't you think that telling Dad what happened today and him possibly showing up to be there for Ashlee is going to sit well with Chase, Ezra, Jordan, Nick, Leo or anyone else for that matter because it won't. You're only gonna piss a bunch of people off. And you don't want that."

"Why are you acting like this Riley?"

"Because Ashlee is my sister whether she acknowledges the Scott genes in her or not and I know how she feels about Dad. She's not gonna want him anywhere near her. I don't want him near her for that matter either. And I know my brothers will agree with me. Dad, Ashlee and Chase in the same room or building is never a good idea and you know it too. I'm heading over there now and so help you if Dad shows up."

"You don't make the decisions Riley. If I think your father should know what happened, that's my choice. Not yours. I'm sorry if you don't approve and I'm sorry you don't think he has any right to be there but I disagree. Whether he shows up at the hospital or not will be his own decision. I'm just calling him to let him know what happened since you know, we're married and everything, so what I do has an effect on him anyway."

"Fine whatever. I'll see you there. But don't expect me to be happy about it."

Riley didn't say anything else before he slammed his phone shut. He turned around to see his group of friends standing in a circle staring at him. They all had shocked expressions on their faces. None of them had ever heard Riley talk like that before. Especially not to his mother, he was the stereotypical polite southern gentleman. At least that's what they had always thought when they thought of Riley Scott.

"I'm sorry guys but I gotta split. My sister was in an accident. I gotta get to the hospital. Peace," Riley said as he waved his free hand and dashed over to his car.

As soon as he got in his car, Riley flipped his phone open and dialed Chase's number. It rang twice before anyone answered.

"Hey Riley, what can I do for you bud?" Chase said when he picked up.

"Meet me at NBMC. Ashlee's on her way there now," Riley replied.

"What happened? Is Ash all right?"

"I don't know. Mom called me and asked me to call and tell you. That's all know."

"Why would your mother be asking you to call and tell me that my daughter is on her way to the hospital? Unless she has something to do with it. Or was it Luke and she's just covering his scrawny ass so I don't pound it in?"

"It wasn't my dad."

"Okay so I'll see you and your mom there?"

"I guess so."

"What about Luke?"

"I told her not to let him be there. I know that you don't like him and that Ashlee doesn't like him either. Y'all may not ever admit it but Ashlee is half Scott so that makes her my sister. So I care about her and I want what's best for her and having my dad there isn't it. Having you there definitely is."

"Thanks Riley."

"Don't thank me unless she listens and doesn't let him show up."

"Right. See you in a little bit."

"Okay bye."

Riley closed his phone and made his way to the hospital. He was really hoping that Peyton would do everything she could to make sure Lucas didn't show his face at the hospital while Chase was there. Which he was guessing would mean that Lucas shouldn't be there at all because Chase would more than likely spend all the time he could in Ashlee's room at her side. Riley knew there was no getting around it, Chase loved Ashlee and Ezra as if they were his kids the same way that Jordan, Nick and Leo were. It didn't matter to any of them that biologically Chase wasn't their father because he was the only father the two of them ever knew in their lives.

Meanwhile Chase ran out of the house and hopped into his truck and sped toward the hospital. He hated it when any of the kids ended up in the hospital but it seemed to him that Ashlee was the one who was there the most. And this time it wasn't even because of something she did to herself. He remembered about an hour before Riley called that Ashlee had said something to him about going out for a walk. It was barely raining but Chase had still told her to make sure she was careful and paid attention to her surroundings.

"Ashlee, hang on. Daddy's on his way. Stay strong baby girl. Daddy's coming," Chase said to himself the whole way to the hospital.

He was so shaken by Riley's phone call that Chase almost drove right past the hospital. At the last second Chase jerked the steering wheel and turned into the parking lot. Careful not to cause any accidents Chase lifted his foot off the gas a little and found the nearest parking space to the entrance of the ER. Just as he was stepping out of the car and heading for the door, Chase looked up and saw none other than Lucas walking in the direction of the same door. Not wanting to deal with the man by himself, Chase got his phone out and called Nathan and Haley. If this was going to be something serious, Chase wanted them there too, and also, he wouldn't have to deal with Lucas on his own if they were there.

"Hey Uncle Chase," Dustin answered between gasps of breath, "What's up?"

"Hey Dustin, are your mom and dad around?" Chase replied.

"Mom's here but Dad's out with Cole. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, let me talk to your mom bud."

"Sure no problem."

Dustin walked up the stairs in search of Haley. He wasn't surprised that she was sitting at her desk in her office typing furiously on her laptop.

"Hey Mom, Uncle Chase is on the phone," Dustin said careful not to make her jump.

"Chase, hi. How are you?" Haley greeted him happily.

"Not so good Hales. I need you to come down to Tree Hill asap," Chase replied.

"Why what's wrong? Is it one of the kids? Did something happen?"

"Yes and yes. Ashlee was in an accident. Actually to be more specific, your sister-in-law hit my daughter with her car while Ashlee was out walking. I'm at NBMC right now and I just watched Lucas walk in. There's no way I'm dealing with him right now but I apparently have no choice."

"Oh gosh, okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Tell Ashlee I'm on my way and that I love her."

"I will. Thank you Hales."

"You're welcome Chase. I love you, buddy, hang in there."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

Chase let out a sigh of relief knowing that Haley was on her way. The only thing was it would be at least 2 hours before she got there since they live in Raleigh now. Knowing there was nothing else he could do but walk through those doors and be patient Chase took a deep breath before walking toward the ER entrance and then through the automatic doors. He felt his jaw tighten up and his hands automatically made fists at his sides at the sight of Lucas sitting in the waiting room looking like his whole world was about to fall apart. Without even looking in his direction, Chase walked over to the receptionist to see what he might be able to find out about Ashlee.

"Hi, I'm here for my daughter Ashlee Davis. I was hoping you could tell me where she is and how she's doing," Chase said politely.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't have an Ashlee Davis in the system," the receptionist replied.

"What about Ashlee Adams?"

His mind was spinning. How could she not be in the computer yet? Why wasn't Ashlee there?

"Nope. Don't have Ashlee Adams either. However there is an Ashlee Scott in the system."

Chase felt his blood boil at that moment. Ashlee Scott. That was never his daughter's name and it never would be. He whipped around to see if Peyton was there. Fortunately for Chase she was.

"Peyton, what name did you give them for Ashlee?" he asked as evenly as he could.

"Ashlee Scott," Lucas answered snidely for his wife.

"Asshole! She's my daughter, not yours."

Chase didn't wait for Lucas to respond before turning to face the receptionist again. Swallowing the anger and his pride, Chase told the receptionist that yes, Ashlee Scott is indeed who he is looking for.

"They've got her in an exam room and they'll be taking her up for x-rays in a few minutes. Dr. Benson will be out to speak with you about her condition in a few minutes," the receptionist explained.

"Thank you," Chase said before walking away and sitting in the farthest chair from where Lucas was.

He was still sitting there a few minutes later when a man who he assumed was the doctor came out into the waiting area.

"Excuse me but which one of you is Ashlee Scott's father?" Dr. Benson asked.

"I am," both Chase and Lucas answered, standing at the exact same time.


	9. Interesting twist

Dr. Benson looked between Chase and Lucas to see they were glaring at each other. This was going to be an interesting case he could tell already. Just as he was about to say something to the two men, Riley spoke up.

"Dr. Benson, let me help you with this. First of all, her name is Ashlee Davis not Ashlee Scott. Second of all, this guy is her father biologically but that's it. Third, this other guy is the only father Ashlee has ever known. So whatever updates you have, make sure you tell the right guy and Chase, is the right guy to be telling," Riley explained carefully finishing with a menacing smirk in Lucas' direction.

"Thank you, young man. Chase, would you please come with me?" Dr. Benson replied as he motioned for Chase to follow him away from the others.

Lucas stood there shocked into silence as he watched Chase walk away behind Dr. Benson. His attention didn't stay there too long before he whipped around to glare at his son who completely betrayed him. Ashlee is his daughter, not Chase's, and Lucas wanted to know when people were gonna get that.

"What's the story doc? How's my little girl?" Chase asked anxiously as soon as the two were by themselves.

"Well it seems that she's got a severe break in her left leg along with significant ligament damage to her left knee. There are multiple cuts and bruises on her body as well," Dr. Benson answered.

"What about her head? Anything there that I need to know about?"

"We're not sure yet. Right now she's a little out of it from all the testing and the drugs we gave her to complete those. We'll be able to assess that as soon as her test results come back and then even more so when the drugs wear off. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you regarding the state of her head or her brain. But I promise you whatever the case may be we're going to take real good care of her. She's in excellent care here."

"I know she is. This is the best hospital staff I've ever dealt with in my life. And I've dealt with this staff a lot in the last two years or so, especially for my daughter. I know it's not common for parents to not want to go right into see their children but I'm waiting for family, so could you tell me where I can find Ashlee when I am ready to go see her."

"Certainly. She's in room 435. If there's nothing else I can do for you right now or no other questions you'd like to ask me, I've got to make my rounds however I'll be sure to let you know when we have her test results back or if anything else changes."

"Thank you I appreciate that."

Dr. Benson nodded before walking down the corridor to make his rounds. Chase turned and walked back out to the waiting room. He was scared out of his mind that Ashlee would have severe head trauma and think that Brooke was still alive or worse, have some serious head injury that could ultimately kill her. Chase immediately shook that thought from his mind knowing that his daughter was a tough girl and there was nothing that could keep her from fighting for her life if she would need to do so.

Haley was about 10 minutes from NBMC when her cell phone rang. She answered it while never bothering to look and see who was calling.

"Hello," she said.

"Hales, it's me. Are you at the hospital yet?" Nathan asked.

"No but I will be in 10 minutes, where are you?"

"Stuck in traffic about an hour outside of Tree Hill, hopefully things will clear up soon. Tell Chase I'll be there as soon as I can and tell my niece that Uncle Nate's on his way."

"Okay I will. Please be careful baby. I love you."

"I will. I love you too. Bye sweetheart."

"Bye."

Haley closed her phone just as she was approaching the entrance to the hospital parking lot. As soon as she parked her car and got out and started walking toward the entrance, Haley's nerves kicked in and her imagination went into overdrive. She was pretty sure that if Ashlee didn't make it out of this alive that she was going to kill Peyton for not being more careful in this crappy weather. After the year that Ashlee had lived with her and Nathan in Raleigh following Brooke's death, the two girls had formed a deeper bond than what was already in place to the point where Ashlee was more like another daughter instead of a niece to Haley. There was no way that she would be able to cope if Ashlee didn't fight her way through this obstacle that presently lie before her now. It would be too much like losing Brooke all over again and that was hard enough on Haley.

Finally, Haley was in the hospital and she broke out into a dead sprint as soon as her eyes fell on Chase. She was holding onto the hope that Ashlee was okay and that everything was going to be fine with her. No sooner had she spotted Chase did Haley see Lucas and Peyton sitting not so far away. Between the three adults, she saw Riley sitting in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest scowling in Lucas' direction.

Just before she opened her mouth to speak, Chase realized that Haley was in front of him and quickly rose to his feet enveloping her into a hug. He was so relieved to see that she was there finally. It felt as if he was going to burst if he had to spend another second in that hospital with Lucas still there and no Haley or Nathan present.

"Hales, where's Nate?" he asked.

"On his way here. He's stuck in traffic about an hour away," Haley replied.

"Okay at least you're here now. I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too but I do wish it were for happier circumstances."

"You and me both."

Haley didn't miss the anger in his voice or the fire in Chase's eyes for that matter. Of course she didn't blame him for being angry at Lucas but when she turned her slightly, Haley realized that it was actually Peyton he was glaring at instead of Lucas. But then she saw his gaze shift slightly so that he was in fact glaring at Lucas now.

"Walk with me, Hales. I want to talk to you but I don't want _**him**_ to hear," Chase said as he offered his friend an arm.

Haley nodded with a smile as she looped her arm through Chase's and allowed him to guide them through the halls of the ER. He told her what he knew so far about Ashlee's condition as well as the stunt that Lucas pulled with her name. As he expected Haley was absolutely livid that Lucas was pull something so childish as to give a false name for Ashlee just because he felt like he could. But at the same time she wondered if maybe even after all these years, Lucas never knew whose last name Brooke had given the twins, hers or his.

"Are you sure he knew that Scott isn't her name though, Chase?" Haley asked hesitantly.

"Haley, I'm absolutely positive. He did that just to piss me off. Why are you defending him? This is your niece we're talking about here!" Chase practically barked in response.

"Whoa, Chase. I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you anymore then you obviously already are. I just thought maybe it was an honest mistake. But I guess you do have a right to be upset about the name thing. I'm pretty sure I'd be upset too if it were me in your shoes."

"Of course I have a right to be upset Hales! Ashlee is my daughter, not his. She never was his daughter, nor will she ever be his daughter."

"I know Chase."

"No, Hales. There's something I need to tell you. Something that I've held inside for the last 7 years about Ashlee and Ezra."

"What is it?"

"When the twins turned 13, Brooke told them the truth about who their "father" was. She also gave them the option of taking his name if they wanted it. Ashlee was torn up about it for the longest time. In fact, a year and half before the accident, Ashlee was on the brink of changing her name but she wanted to see Lucas and talk to him before making the final decision. I'm not totally sure what happened that day but when she came home, she was ticked off and said that she wasn't taking his name after all. I guess Brooke never told Lucas that Ashlee didn't go through with it. Not that I blame her, of course."

"Wait I'm confused. Brooke gave them the option of taking Lucas' name and you didn't protest?"

"How could I?"

"How could you not? Chase, they've known you as Daddy since they were born."

Chase knew that Haley was right but he also knew at the time that it was right for Ashlee and Ezra to have a choice if they wanted to take their biological father's name or not. It wasn't something that Brooke told them on her own, she and Chase had discussed it multiple times before she went to them about it. Chase wanted to adopt them but since adoption was such an expensive ordeal, they never went through with it.

"Hales, it's a name though. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, with or without the name Adams, Ashlee and Ezra will always be my kids. Who knows maybe someday they'll wanna change their name to Adams on their own and should that day come, I'll be there for them and if it never does happen, I'll never love them any less."

They were heading back to the waiting area when they heard screaming voices. As they got closer, they realized that Riley and Lucas were going back and forth at each other. Not wanting to let them make a bigger scene what they had probably already caused, Haley and Chase rushed back into the waiting area to separate the two. Haley going to Lucas and Chase to Riley.

"Lucas what the hell is wrong with you?" Haley snapped when she had him backed into a corner.

"None of your damn business, Haley," Lucas barked icily.

"Oh right, I hear you barking at my nephew but it's none of my business. That's a load of crap Luke and you know it. Now tell me what your problem is before I throw your ass out of here so Nathan doesn't kill you when he gets here."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure Nathan is gonna kill me. It's not like it's his daughter that got hurt. She's my daughter!"

"Don't start that shit again. You know you lost the right to be her father and Ezra's father a long time ago. In fact, I'm pretty sure you lost that right when you bailed on Brooke while she was still pregnant. So I don't wanna hear anymore of your crap. I'm serious too, you better tell me what the hell you were yelling at Riley for or I won't give Nate the opportunity to kick your ass, I'll just do it myself."

"No Hales, I never lost the right to be a father to my daughter. Cause I can't lose what I never had. Brooke never gave me a chance to be a father to Ashlee or Ezra. And now nobody is giving me that chance to be the father that I should have been a long time ago."

"You think maybe there's a reason Brooke never gave you a chance to be a father to the twins Luke?"

"Yeah, it's called she was always a selfish fucking bitch who never thought about anyone but herself."

Lucas had no sooner finished speaking before Haley's hand swung and met with his cheek full force jerking his head to the side. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to call Brooke a bitch, or even a selfish bitch for that matter. If she had less self-restraint it was a strong possibility that instead of slapping Lucas that Haley might have kicked him for his below-the-belt comments about Brooke.

The two were still standing there glaring at each other when Nathan walked into the hospital. His expression was clearly readable that he was worried out of his mind about Ashlee. Some of the worry let go into anger when he saw his brother there and heard him screaming at Haley. Not wanting to make things worse he quietly walked over, doing his best to keep his emotions under wraps and led Haley away gently by her arm. He would deal with Lucas later since the only thing on his mind at that point was Ashlee he wanted to talk to Chase.

"Chase, how's Ashlee? Have you seen her yet?" Nathan asked upon reaching his friend.

"No, I was waiting for you guys. I figured Lucas would be less likely to follow me into the room if I had you with me then if I were to go alone. Since as you've obviously noticed he somehow feels entitled to be here or something stupid like that. I really don't know but I can tell you that I'm glad you're here now since he doesn't seem like he plans to leave anytime soon."

"All right, just give me five minutes and I'll get him and Peyton out of here," Nathan said as he turned and made his way back to where Lucas and Peyton were sitting.

"Luke you and Peyton need to get out of here. There's no reason for either one of you to stick around anymore. Hales and I are here now," Nathan said calmly hoping to get the message across that they were no longer welcome to wait around.

"You don't get to tell me that I can't be here for my daughter Nathan," Lucas replied evenly.

"Actually, since she's my niece and I'm just looking out for her well being, yes I do get to tell you that you can't be here for Chase and Brooke's daughter. Now get out, both of you before I report your sorry ass to security and they have to come down and escort you out."

Lucas could see that Nathan was serious but he didn't really care. Nathan could see that Lucas knew he was pissed but it was obvious to Nathan by the lack of movement from both Lucas and Peyton that neither of them cared that he was threatening to have security called on them. In fact, Nathan almost wondered if Lucas was challenging him to do just that. If that were the case, however, Nathan wasn't playing. He wanted them out without a fight and he wanted them out now.

"I'm not asking you again, Luke. Get out," Nathan said with clenched teeth.

"I don't have to listen to you. It's a free country. I can stay here if I want. It doesn't matter if you like it or not Nathan. Peyton and I aren't going anywhere until I see my daughter."

"Well I guess you two are never leaving those chairs then because you don't have a daughter Lucas. You never have and you never will. So do us all a favor, grow up and get out of here."

Nathan didn't bother waiting to see if Lucas was listening to what he had just said. Nor did he care if Lucas had anything else he wanted to say to Nathan because there was no way Nathan was gonna listen to anything else that came out of his mouth. Especially, none of the garbage about Ashlee being his daughter instead of Chase's daughter that made Nathan want to either throw up or punch his brother in the mouth.

"Hon, let's just get out of here. I'm tired and hungry and I just want to go home and be with my husband for a while," Peyton said after a while.

Lucas looked at his wife in disbelief that she was actually trying to convince him to leave his daughter. He shook his head violently in opposition but quickly changed his tune when Peyton whispered something seductive in his ear and winked at him.

As Lucas and Peyton made their way out of the ER; Chase, Nathan and Haley walked toward Ashlee's room to go sit with her.


	10. Life changes

**Warning…this chapter is a flashback to Brooke's accident. May need tissues to read this. Oh and the answer to who hit her is coming in this chapter to. Some of you have guessed it but I just decided who it was as I wrote this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! As always…don't forget to tell me what you think of it…**

_Ashlee was in the girls' locker room getting changed after cheerleading. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to getting out of there. More than that, though, she was looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon with Brooke. They had decided on a mother-daughter shopping trip and then dinner just the two of them. _

_Ashlee finished tying her shoes and grabbed her bag before she bounced out of the locker room, down the halls and out of the doors of Tree Hill High. It was a nice day out, the sun was shining brightly but Ashlee forgot her sunglasses so she was stuck shielding her eyes with her hands as she scanned the parking lot. She was looking for the familiar sight of Brooke leaning against the side of her light blue VW Bug convertible smiling back at Ashlee. However, Brooke wasn't there yet. Ashlee's shoulders slumped until she saw the familiar car about 10 feet away from the parking lot. The smile came back to Ashlee's face. If Ashlee had known what was about to happen, though, she never would have let the smile come back. _

_Barreling down the road in Brooke's direction was an old beat up pick up truck. The expression on Ashlee's face changed from happy to terrified the closer the truck got to Brooke's car. The driver continued down the road and with every inch gained, the truck swerved with more regularity and the jerking was harder than before. _

_Brooke was singing along to her favorite Britney Spears song as she drove down the road toward the high school. She was on her way to get Ashlee so they could head out for their afternoon of mother-daughter time. Brooke couldn't remember the last time they had an opportunity like today and because of that, she jumped at the chance. It felt like ever since Ashlee and Yadier started dating, Brooke saw less of her little girl. _

_Brooke was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see the pick up truck coming right at her. Not until it was too late that is. In a last ditch effort, she tried to swerve out of its path but instead ended up getting t-boned. The last thing Brooke saw was the tear-streaked, fear-stricken face of her 17-year-old daughter. _

_Ashlee could see the truck heading right for Brooke's side of the car. She could also see that Brooke was completely oblivious to what was going on outside of her car. Desperate for Brooke to get out of the way, Ashlee tried to silently to tell her to move. That obviously didn't work, so she went for the next best thing, yelling as loud as she could. It didn't matter that people were staring at her or rushing from their homes to see what the screaming was all about. Ashlee just wanted Brooke to get out of harm's way. _

_"Mom! Look out!" Ashlee screamed. She was suddenly thankful that she was a cheerleader and yelling loud came easily for her. _

_Hoping against hope that it had worked and Brooke heard her, Ashlee closed her eyes for a split second. The next thing she heard were screeching tires and Ashlee's eyes flew open to see the truck t-bone Brooke. In the same way that the car crumpled, Ashlee crumpled to the pavement in a heap of screaming and tears. She stayed like that for a few minutes before getting up and running toward the car. Despite her logic, Ashlee was hoping that Brooke would still be alive. _

_"Mom! Mom!" she called desperately as she pounded on the remaining glass. _

_There was no response. Ashlee nearly lost it again when she saw all the blood. Pushing back the tears, Ashlee ran to the passenger side and tried hopelessly to open the door. It was stuck but she refused to give up. Ashlee took a minute to look up again at Brooke and was met with a surprise, Brooke was staring back at her. _

_"Hold on, Mommy, I'm gonna get you out of there. It's gonna be okay. You'll see," Ashlee said as she tried harder to open the door. _

_"I love you Ashy Bear," Brooke said before her eyes fell shut and her last breath passed through her lips. _

_Ashlee couldn't move. She couldn't breathe, it was a bad dream. It had to be. Hoping to wake up soon, Ashlee stood there, staring at the smashed car that held the lifeless body of her mother, her best friend, while the tears fell rapidly from her eyes. Another 10 or 15 minutes went by before Ashlee thought to call anyone. She started with the one she really didn't want to make, 911. After she had finished with that phone call, Ashlee broke down again before slightly catching her breath long enough to call her dad. _

_"Hey sweetie, I thought you and Mom were hanging out today," Chase said when he got to his phone. _

_"Daddy," Ashlee barely choked out. _

_"Baby what's wrong?"_

_"She's gone Daddy. It all happened so fast. I tried to warn her."_

_"I don't understand. What's going on? Where are you? Where's your mom? Let me talk to her."_

_"You can't talk to her. She's gone Daddy. I watched it happen!" _

_Chase was exasperated. Ashlee wasn't making any sense. How could Brooke be gone? What did Ashlee mean by that? Chase had been trying to find out just that but wasn't getting the answers he needed. _

_"Ashlee, where are you sweetie?" Chase asked again._

_"About 10 feet from the high school. I'm sorry I didn't save her Daddy. Please don't be mad at me," Ashlee replied hoarsely. _

_"I don't know what happened or what you're talking about, Ash, I can't possibly be mad at you."_

_"Mom's dead. I saw the whole thing happen!" _

_Chase went silent on his end of the phone. It was his turn to hope he was stuck in a bad dream. Just like Ashlee before him, Chase realized it wasn't a bad dream but a bad reality. _

_"Stay where you are. I'll be right there."_

_"Okay I love you Daddy."_

_"I love you too Ash."_

_Not another word was spoken before Ashlee and Chase both closed their phones. Ashlee stared at the car, blinded by tears as she waited for EMTs, police and Chase to arrive. It seemed like eternity before anyone was there. The police and EMTs arrived almost simultaneously. Then while Ashlee was talking to the police, Chase showed up. Despite being in mid-sentence, Ashlee took off running toward Chase when she spotted him. The tears that she had been so desperately holding back, broke free once Chase had his arms wrapped tightly around his daughter. _

_"Daddy, I'm sorry. I tried to warn her. She couldn't hear me I don't think," Ashlee sobbed into Chase's shoulder. _

_"You did what you could. Nobody is gonna blame you for what happened to Mom," Chase said softly as he stroked Ashlee's dark hair. _

Chase was sitting in the chair closest to Ashlee's head, tightly holding one of her hands. Nathan, Haley, Ezra, Jordan, Nick and Leo were all scattered around the rest of the bed. Lindsay was laying on one side of the bed next to Ashlee and Shannon was on the other side.

"Come on, Ash. Wake up girly," Lindsay said, her voice cracking with emotion and tears falling down her face.

Everybody was sitting around the room when there was a knock on the door. Nobody seemed like they wanted to get up so Nathan made his way over to the door. He opened it to find himself standing face to face with a Hispanic looking kid who's eyes were puffy and red like he had been crying.

"Can I help you?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Yeah, can I come in and see Ashlee?" he asked.

"Who are you? How do you know my niece?"

Lindsay got up when she heard Nathan questioning the visitor. She was relieved to see that it was Yadier.

"Let Yadi in Nate. He's Ashlee's boyfriend," Lindsay said.

Nathan nodded. He figured that if anyone would know who this kid was outside of Chase or one of his nephews, Lindsay would. He was just glad that it wasn't Lucas trying to snake his way into the room. Although he was a bit surprised that Connor, John, Riley, or Tommy hadn't been there to see how Ashlee was doing.

Yadier walked toward the bed upset to see his girlfriend lying motionless and fighting for her life. He grabbed her hand that Chase wasn't holding and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly.

"Babe, come on, don't give up on yourself. Come back to us sweet girl," Yadier pleaded tearfully.

_Ashlee suddenly found herself looking down at the scene in her own hospital room. It completely freaked her out because of who was standing next to her. _

_"Ashy Bear, you need to go back to them. I love you sweetheart but it's not time for you to join me here," Brooke said to her daughter._

_"But Mom, I don't want to go back without you. It's too hard there without you. I couldn't even go to New York cause I miss you so bad and feel like the reason you didn't get to live out your full dream was because of the accident," Ashlee responded._

_"Is that what you think? Do you really believe that the accident was your fault?"_

_Ashlee didn't say anything she just nodded. Brooke frowned at Ashlee as she pulled her in for a hug. _

_"It wasn't your fault. Please let go of that thought. If you want to go to New York and follow in the footsteps I took, that's up to you. But please don't stay in Tree Hill because you are holding yourself responsible for my accident. Remember Ashlee, when all else fails…"_

_"Be cute. I know Mom. But it's not the same without you. It doesn't mean anything if you're not with me."_

_"Ashlee go back. I'll see you when it's your time. I love you sweetie."_

_"Mommy just tell me one thing."_

_"What's that Ash?"_

_"Who hit you?"_

_Brooke's head dropped. She had been waiting for that one. It was going to break Ashlee's heart to tell her the truth. _

_"Lucas."_

_Ashlee felt anger rise up in her. That son of a bitch lied to her. He was going to pay._

_"I love you Mommy but I have something to care of down there."_

_"Ashlee, no, don't do what I think you're thinking about."_

_Ashlee didn't say anything. She just placed a kiss on Brooke's cheek before everything faded before her. _

Ashlee stirred slightly in the hospital bed catching the attention of everyone in the room. After everybody hugged or kissed Ashlee and Chase had given her some water did she speak.

"I know who did it," she said.

"You know who did what?" Chase asked.

"I know who killed Mom."

The whole room went silent. Every pair of eyes focused on the dark haired girl in the hospital bed waiting for her to speak.

"Baby, who killed your mom?" Yadier asked gently.

"Lucas."

As she expected, each person in the room, especially Chase, Ezra, Nathan and Haley were boiling with anger within seconds of her dropping the name from her lips. Then suddenly the room erupted with talking and emotions. Ashlee lie on the bed in the arms of her boyfriend as they watched everything unfold before them.

"Ashlee, I love you," he said softly as he kissed the side of her head.

"I love you too," she replied.

"Marry me?"

Ashlee turned and looked at him with shock in her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't want to, just that she hadn't been expecting that one.

"Ashlee?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"What do you say then? Marry me. There's no one else I'd rather be with and after I heard you were here fighting for your life, I knew that when you woke up I would ask you to marry me."

Ashlee still didn't speak. Instead, she put a hand on each side of Yadier's face and brought his lips down to hers and kissed him with more love and passion then she knew she had in her. When breathing became a problem they pulled back. Yadier looked expectantly at Ashlee who smiled brightly and nodded her head. He grinned at her and kissed her again.


End file.
